


Decisions

by FlyingFyreFlye



Category: Twilight Series - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Forbidden Love, Friends to Lovers, Imprinting, M/M, Running Away
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-10-08
Updated: 2014-07-09
Packaged: 2017-11-15 21:42:37
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 28
Words: 53,736
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/532083
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/FlyingFyreFlye/pseuds/FlyingFyreFlye
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>During the battle with the Volturi in Breaking Dawn Seth imprints on a vampire, one of the 'bad' ones. Will the wolves be able to keep their promise to never harm an imprint or will they risk hurting one of their own? And how does the vampire feel about all of this, is he even evil at all?</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

SETH POV

Seth was trying hard not to fidget at Leah’s side as they waited among the trees for the Volturi to come. His mind was swirling with nervous thoughts and, not for the first time, he was glad that he was no longer a part of Sam’s pack. Seth just knew this whole situation would be ten times worse if he had to listen to the terrified thoughts of the younger wolves - the ones who had never even met a vampire, good or bad.

 _‘Hell, even I’m scared,’_ he thought. _‘And I’ve fought them before.’_

 _‘Stop being such a wuss Seth,’_ Leah returned. _'You and our precious leader here wouldn’t let us kill the leeches when we had the chance and now we’re all paying the price. We were too lenient, and now everyone’s going to die, including your precious bloodsuckers.’_

Seth whimpered at his sister’s harsh words and Jacob growled from where he was waiting in the clearing with Nessie, _‘Shut up Leah! We all made a choice, and neither Seth nor I regrets it. You are free to leave whenever you want. You know I won’t force you to stay and fight for something you don’t believe in, but you have to stop taking your frustration out on Seth; he’s nervous enough as it is.’_

‘ _Hey!’_ whined Seth. _‘I’m not nervous… I’m just a little agitated is all.’_

Leah scoffed but dropped the subject and after a few moments Jacob gave a mental head-nod in approval, his thoughts instantly switching back to Nessie.

Before Seth had a chance to begin worrying anew he felt Jacob’s attention being drawn away from his imprint once more, this time towards Edward, who had turned suddenly away from Bella to face the far end of the clearing. His face held a look of deep concentration and everyone fell silent, waiting for him to speak. Finally, after a few short moments that seemed to drag on forever, Edward turned to look back at Bella, uttering the two words that everyone, vampire and wolf alike, had been dreading to hear.

“They’re coming.”


	2. Chapter 2

"They're Coming."

Seth would never have imagined that two such simple words could have such a profound effect. As soon as they left Edward's mouth it seemed as if the entire world stood still. Fear, the likes of which he had never felt before, coursed through his veins and his mind became numb with terror.

 _'This is it,'_ he thought. _'It's actually happening.'_

He dimly registered the same thought running through the minds of both Jacob and Leah, and he subconsciously moved closer to his sister, somewhat surprised when she did not flinch from his touch or push him away.

Everyone, both in the clearing and hidden among the trees, had gone completely silent. The only sounds were the bird-like heartbeats of Renesmee and the slower, deeper heartbeats of the wolves. Even the birds and insects were gone, scared into hiding by the unnatural scent of the vampires.

Gradually, over the unusually loud sound of his own heartbeat, Seth became aware of another noise, like the rustling of leaves. A few moments later the rest of the pack noticed it too and, although they could not see into the clearing through the thickness of the trees, all heads turned in the direction that they instinctively knew the Volturi were coming from.

As the noise gradually rose in volume Seth forced his fear to the back of his mind to be dealt with later, and joined his consciousness with Jacob's so that he could see what was going on through the trees.

The situation in the clearing was much the same as it was in the forest. Everyone had gone still and silent and all eyes were turned in the same direction, towards the noise. Seth could feel Jacob's fear for Nessie growing as the Volturi neared and he quickly sent reassuring thoughts his way, before his friend and brother did something he would regret.

_'Don't worry about it Jake, I'm sure everyone is just overreacting. I mean, the Volturi can't be that bad can they? And even if they are they won't be able to lay a finger on Nessie, not with all of these witnesses.'_

Jacob scoffed at Seth's attempt to placate him. _'God Seth, you're so naïve. You really think that all vampires are like the Cullen's? These bloodsuckers aren't going to stop. We have something they want, and from what I've heard, nothing will stop them from getting it. We could have a thousand witnesses and it still wouldn't make a difference- they won't be able to talk when they're dead.'_

Seth decided to make a last-ditch attempt at cheering up his brother, _'Pffft, there's no way these vampires can be any worse than the Cullen's. What, with Edward knowing every thought you think and having unwanted conversations with you about your feelings.'_ Here Edward looked over and scowled at Jacob, who had growled in badly suppressed mirth.

Pleased with his success, Seth continued;  _'And I bet no one in the Volturi would try and feed you from a dog bowl like Rose, or pick a fight with everything that moves like Emmet.'_ Noticing that not only Jacob, but Edward and Leah as well, was listening to him now, Seth kept going; _'They wouldn't have a Carlisle to bandage you up whenever you get a wound as superficial as a paper cut, or a Jasper to influence your moods. And they definitely wouldn't have an Esme to worry about whether you're getting enough food or an Alice to get angry at you for blocking her visions of the future.'_ He finished his speech with a fond chuckle for the strange quirks of his vampire friends.

Jacob and Edward were also laughing, which was earning them quite a few strange looks from the other occupants of the clearing, while Leah just huffed in disgust and exasperation at her brother's obvious closeness to the vampires, though she didn't move to sever the contact between them, for which Seth was incredibly grateful.

 _'Thanks Seth,' t_ hought Jacob as his laughter subsided. _'Sorry about snapping at you before, I'm just a bit stressed out.'_

_'Don't mention it, I-'_

Seth's reply was cut off as his attention was snatched by a disturbance in the trees opposite Jacob and the Cullen's.

Slowly, as if they were in no hurry, figures in dark robes began appearing from among the trees. They moved silently and with purpose, fanning out into a long line that stretched the entire length of the clearing. As more of them continued to emerge from the trees, Seth found himself overwhelmed at the enormity of their numbers, his fear mounting as it seemed they would never stop coming, that they had an infinite number of troops at their disposal.

The dark figures walked towards the Cullen's with a sense of great purpose, the line never slowing or wavering in the slightest. As their numbers continued to mount, Seth found himself almost overwhelmed with fear.

 _'They're not going to stop,'_ he thought. _'They're not going to listen to reason. Jacob was right, they're going to keep on coming and they are going to kill us all…'_


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aro wants to determine whether the wolves are a threat. But which of the wolves will be willing to speak with him?

SETH POV

' _They're not going to stop.'_ He thought,  _'They're not going to listen to reason. Jacob was right, they're going to keep on coming and they are going to kill us all…'_

Seth's mind had gone completely blank with terror. All rational reasoning had flown out the window to be replaced with cold, mind-numbing fear.

Suddenly, a sharp pain in his left ear broke through the fog in Seth's mind and he snapped himself out of Jacob's head and back into his own so that he could glare at his sister, whose sharp wolf-teeth were responsible for the current pain in his ear.

' _What was that for?'_ Whined Seth.

' _You were gettin' soft on me,'_ Leah snapped back.  _'Pull yourself together Seth. If you think I've gone through all of this trouble to fight on your Leeches' side just to have you freeze up and chicken out before I've even had the satisfaction of kicking some bloodsucker butt, then you can think again._   _You wanted in on the fight and you got it. Now snap out of your stupid fear and get ready to help your so-called_ buddies  _if they need it.'_

' _I'm not going soft!'_ Seth squawked indignantly,  _'I'm just worried about everyone else!'_

Leah gave him her best big sister look, the one that said 'I know you're lying and I know that you know that I know, but I don't have the time or the energy to fight with you, so shut up.' Then she turned away and began to walk towards the clearing only to stop again when Seth called out.

_'Hey Leah? Thank you.'_

Leah's eyes widened and her thoughts were filled with surprise for just a moment at the true feeling in her brother's words. It only lasted a few seconds, though, before the emotionless mask was back in place. She turned and continued to trot towards the clearing, not slowing her pace as Seth hurried to catch up with her.

 

* * *

 

When they reached the clearing a few seconds later, Seth's fear was suddenly replaced with anticipation.

Not anticipation for the fight, because the Volturi seemed to have stopped their approach at the sight of the wolves, and not anticipation for the coming battle of words either. In fact, Seth had no idea what exactly it was that he was anticipating, just that the moment he had set foot in the clearing and seen the Volturi with his own eyes a strange feeling had settled itself low in his belly, and he felt himself being tugged towards the so-called 'bad vampires.' He was overcome with a strange  _need_ to be among them, as though seeing past their hoods would somehow fill a place in his life that Seth hadn't even realised needed filling.

He was so overwhelmed by this strange need that he didn't realise the rest of the wolves had stopped moving until he was once again yanked sharply back to reality by Leah's teeth, this time buried in his tail.

' _What the_ hell _do you think you're_ doing _?'_ She screamed in his head. _'Are you trying to get yourself killed? Are really that eager for a fight ,or are you just too stupid to notice that they've stopped?'_

When she realised that he'd spaced out and started towards the Volturi again, Leah lost her cool. 

_'SETH CLEARWATER!'_

Her mental shout was so loud that both Jacob and Edward, who was currently being interrogated by the head of the Volturi, turned their heads to look worriedly at her and Seth, who had jumped back into awareness with a sudden start,  _'Sorry Leah, I don't know what's come over me. It's like I'm being pulled toward them. I really can't help it.'_

He tried to explain in a way that made sense, purposely leaving out the fact that wasn't sorry at all and that he didn't want the feeling to stop, in fear that such an admission would only serve to make Leah even angrier.

At his words, Leah's anger immediately turned into concern for her baby brother.  _'What do you mean you can't help it? Does it hurt? Can you block it? It's one of those bloodsuckers isn't it? One of the one's with weird psychic powers.'_

And without even waiting for a reply, she was back to anger, though this time it was directed at the Volturi. 

 _'Which one is it?'_ She growled, surveying the line of (mostly) impassive, hooded vampires.  _'Which is one doing this to my baby brother? I'LL RIP THEIR THROAT OUT!'_

Again, her shout had drawn the attention of Jacob and Edward, which upset Seth even more. Those two were under enough strain as it was, they didn't need him adding to it with his weird emotions, so he hid all thoughts of the strange feeling in an attempt to reassure them.

' _Don't worry about it Leah, it was bad before but it's better now,'_ he reassured his sister, hoping it would be enough to make her drop the issue.

' _What do you mean its better now?'_ She questioned, suspicious of his sudden change of heart.

' _I mean that I can't feel it anymore. I don't know why, maybe it's because you distracted me. Maybe Bella's shield stopped it. Either way I don't know what it was, but it's definitely gone.'_ Seth rambled, desperately hoping that Leah wouldn't pick up on his lie.

He was lucky.

' _Okay...'_ Replied Leah hesitantly,  _'But if it comes back let me know right away.'_

' _Course I will.'_ Said Seth, with a mental smile thrown in for good measure (yes, it is possible because Seth's just so damn  _happy_ ) and finally, with one last worried look, Leah turned her attention back to the Volturi who, it seemed, were fishing for reasons to attack the Cullen's, despite the fact that they had proven themselves innocent of creating an immortal child.

Again however, Seth was not paying very much attention. His mind was too busy concentrating on hiding his thoughts from Leah and trying to figure out what the strange feeling in his belly was; because, despite what he had told Leah, it had not disappeared. If anything the feeling had grown even stronger.

He scanned the Volturi's lines, but none of the vampires seemed to be paying him the slightest attention. They were either staring into space, glaring at the Cullens' and their witnesses, glaring at the wolves, or gazing adoringly at their leader; however, Seth did notice that the feeling became almost overwhelming when he looked at the two small figures cloaked in the darkest grey, just to the left (Seth's right) of the Volturi leaders.

' _It must be one of them that's doing this to me,'_ he thought. Unfortunately, he couldn't be sure, and it was only now that he decided to pay attention to what was going on around him.

The blonde Volturi leader seemed to be on some kind of 'Werewolves can't be trusted, we should kill them all' rampage. Fortunately, none of the others seemed to be agreeing with him. Thinking that there was nothing to help his cause currently going on, Seth tried to think of his own way to get closer to the two slight vampires so that he could figure out which one was responsible for the strange but pleasant feeling still bubbling low in his belly. He wasn't having any luck whatsoever when the need for a plan was suddenly taken right out of his hands.

Seth had only been listening to the actual goings on in the clearing with half an ear, but his full attention was caught by the current words of the Volturi leader.  _'Aro'_  he thought, remembering the name from when Edward had used it earlier.

"I do not think that these creatures will reveal our secret," the vampire was saying. "If anything, they are even more careful with it than we are."

At this the blonde vampire looked murderously furious, while the wolves and the Cullen's all breathed a sigh of relief.

That relief turned out to be short-lived, because Aro hadn't finished.

"I have been reassured by Edward that these Wolves mean us no harm, and I trust his word completely; however, I would like to further reassure both myself and the members of the vampire race who are unable to read the truth in his thoughts." At this, Aro's face took on an evil smirk, "I would like to speak to one of the wolves. In person."

Unable to believe his luck, both in being able to get closer to the two hooded vampires and to have the chance to help his friends end this without violence, Seth was already up and running into the woods to phase before the rest of the wolves had even begun their outraged howling.

' _Seth, what are you doing?'_ Asked both Leah and Jacob in alarm as he disappeared into the trees.

' _I'm phasing back to human form,'_ he replied.  _'It will be easier to communicate with Aro that way.'_

He heard, and just as quickly ignored, the shock in their thoughts as he looked for a place where no one could watch him phase.

' _What the hell are you talking about Seth? You can't do that, it's too dangerous. We don't have to listen to the psycho leech. Anyway, if anyone's going to go, it'll be me'_ said Leah, loath to let her brother place even one toe in danger.

' _No Leah.'_ Seth argued,  _'It has to be me. I'm the only wolf that actually likes vampires. I'm not repulsed by their smell, or their cold skin, or even their lifestyle. If I talk to them they'll have no plausible reason to attack us. If you go you're likely to lose your temper and attack someone, and that isn't going to do our cause any good.'_

' _I don't care, that's just not a good enough reason Seth!'_ Replied Leah,  _'I'm your big sister, Mum left me in charge, and I say you're not going.'_

When Seth ignored her and got ready to phase anyway Leah began to chase after him, planning to use any force necessary to stop her little brother doing something that she considered to be stupid, but she was prevented from doing so by another voice.  _  
_

 _'No Leah,' s_ aid Jacob calmly.  _'The kid's right. He's the only one that's got any chance of proving that wolves and vampires can live together peacefully.'_

When Leah made to interrupt, he stopped her,  _'I don't like this any more than you do Leah, but this is something that only Seth can do. He'll never forgive you if you stop him and something bad happens to someone because the Vamps decide we can't be trusted.'_

' _Thanks Jake, you too Lee,'_ said Seth fondly.  _'I know you're just trying to protect me, but I'll be fine, I promise.'_

Then, with another one of those weird mental-smiles that only Seth can do, he phased, got dressed and walked back towards the clearing in complete confidence, despite the fact that the feeling of anticipation was growing stronger with every step.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aro discovers just how impossible it is to make Seth Clearwater look untrustworthy, even to vampires.

ARO POV

He had them now.

Aro knew that his request to speak to one of the Wolves would not be well received. In fact, he was counting on it.

So far the Cullen's had proved all of his accusations to be false. They had bought their witnesses and their  _pets_ , and had so far thwarted every plan he had made to annihilate them and collect their talented members. This time though, Aro knew he had won. He knew from Edward's thoughts that the so called 'shape shifters' would never agree to speak with him, or even come within ten feet of a vampire they weren't planning on killing.

' _And when they refuse my request,' h_ e thought, _'I will claim that they have something to hide, that they are plotting with the Cullen's to destroy the Volturi and take charge of the vampire race themselves.'_

Aro wasn't bothered by the fact that his claims would be false. He honestly did not care so long as the end result favoured him in some way. Maybe he would even capture one of the younger wolves and train it as a bodyguard,  _'Yes,'_ he thought.  _'That would be quite acceptable.'_

He suddenly stopped his mental plotting when he felt Edward's glare upon him, obviously angry at the thoughts running through Aro's head.

 _'S_ _orry Edward, but that's just how it is. I have already won. Don't worry though, not all will die. The wolves will, even the one who ran into the forest like a coward, and many of your_ witnesses  _will go along with them of course, but I have a feeling that your beautiful wife and darling daughter will have a drastic change of opinion concerning the Volturi, and who knows, maybe I will be merciful and decide to spare your life as well. Yes, you and your little family will make a fine addition to my collection.'_

Aro had expected Edward to lose control then, perhaps even try and attack him. What he didn't expect was for Edward to produce an evil smirk of his own and say loud enough for all to hear, "The Quileute wolves have accepted your terms Aro. One of their members has volunteered to speak with you in his human form."

Aro lost his smirk completely and the clearing went suddenly silent. Even the outraged howling of the wolves ceased as a boy emerged from among the trees.

Aro had previously decided to dislike the wolf at first sight, but all he felt was shock,  _'He is only a child.'_

The boy could be no older than sixteen. He was tall for his age but had not yet reached six feet, his hair was relatively short, but long enough for the fringe to hang in his eyes, which were dark brown and seemed to sparkle from within. What exactly they sparkled with Aro didn't know, but the boy's entire being seemed to exude an aura of  _happiness._

He didn't hesitate as he walked towards the Volturi, stopping only once on his journey through no-man's-land, to speak to the grey and russet coloured wolves that were following him, "C'mon guys, I'll be fine. I'm perfectly capable of talking to a couple of vampires on my own, as you well know."

When the two wolves only stared at him in return, not making any move to retreat, the boy sighed and rolled his eyes at them in seeming exasperation, though the small smile at the corner of his mouth suggested that he was not as annoyed as he was making out to be.

He continued his journey and was by Edward's side in under a minute. He grinned at Edward, and Aro was surprised to see that the boy was genuinely happy to see him, before turning to scan the assembled Volturi. His eyes restied on the hooded Jane and Alec for slightly longer than the others before he made eye contact with Aro, and  _smiled_.

Before Aro could even think of responding, Edward spoke again, "Members of the Volturi, allow me to introduce you to Seth Clearwater." Here he paused slightly for effect, trying to keep the smug smile from his face. "He has agreed to answer any questions that you wish to ask him honestly. As long as they are relevant to your cause of course." Here Edward looked at Aro for confirmation.

"Of course." He agreed through gritted teeth, knowing that Edward had backed him into a corner. He could not refuse the offer without it looking like he was picking a fight, and for the first time he was regretting bringing so many witnesses of his own.

Then, suddenly, he was struck with a brilliant plan. He extended his arm towards the wolf-boy, as if to shake hands, "It is a pleasure to meet you Seth; I am pleased that you have agreed to take us up on our offer. I'm sure you understand how important it is for us to look into every possibility in a case like this."

Aro heard the lie-detecting vampire girl on the Cullen's side hiss and saw onw of his own witnesses, Charles, flinch at his lie, but Seth didn't seem to notice. He just smiled broadly, eyes sparkling and replied happily, "Of course, I understand. We wolves have the same need for secrecy and I am happy to help prove my friends innocence." Then he looked at Aro's outstretched hand and a look of sadness passed across his face, "I am willing to answer any questions that you have for me, and I swear that I will answer them truthfully; however, I would prefer to keep my innermost thoughts to myself."

Aro was  _furious._ He hadn't expected the boy to know of his power. The wolves weren't supposed to be paying attention to the extra abilities of the Volturi, they were supposed to be too busy planning to kill them with brute strength.

Before he had quashed his anger enough to be sure that he could speak to Seth without losing all control, the boy spoke again, "I don't mean to be disrespectful or anything, I promise. It's just that there are certain private aspects of my life that I would prefer to keep to myself. I hope you understand?"

He was incredibly sincere in the delivery of these words, his eyes managing to convey his emotions so perfectly that no one in the clearing could doubt the truth in them, not even Aro. But Aro didn't care. At that moment he truly hated the young werewolf, and it took all of his willpower to reply to him in a civil manner, "Of course I understand. So long as you swear to answer our questions truthfully I see no need to look into your mind."

Aro smiled gently and retracted his outstretched hand while speaking, aiming to be as polite as humanly (or vampirely) possible, while all the while he was thinking the exact opposite. _'That's it Seth Clearwater, you are going down. I don't care how honest you are, or how kind or understanding. By the time I have finished with you, me viewing your private thoughts will be the last thing you have to worry about.'_

While Seth was thanking him for his understanding, Aro was already plotting a way to remove the happy sparkle in his eyes,  _permanently_.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The vampires in the clearing realise that not all werewolves view them in a negative light.

SETH POV

Despite what some people thought, his ability to accept people for who they are didn't make Seth clueless to their intentions. He knew that Aro was angry, he knew that he was the cause of that anger, and he knew that the ancient vampire was going to try his hardest to make him pay.

Seth knew that denying his inner-most thoughts to Aro had not helped his cause in the slightest, but if Aro had read his thoughts then he would have felt the strange tugging at Seth's stomach, and he would have known of his need to see under the hoods of the two cloaked figures. If Aro found out about that need then he would exploit it, of this Seth had no doubt, so he'd decided to refuse Aro and take his chances with the questions, all the while hoping that he would get his chance to discover what the tugging in his belly really meant.

 

* * *

 

"So Seth, since you have refused my request to read your thoughts, I suppose we will just have to do this the hard way," said Aro. Seth noticed several of the 'good' vampires, and the wolves flinch at what the Volturi leader was implying, but returned his attention to said leader when he continued to speak.

"I, as well as my fellow leaders Caius and Marcus will ask you questions that we feel are necessary to ensure we can trust you and your pack. As there is no other way of knowing, we will just have to take your word that you are not lying, will you give it?"

"Of course," replied Seth. "I give you my solemn word that I will truthfully answer all of your questions to the best of my knowledge, as long as they are relevant to our cause of course."

"Of course," agreed Aro, with a sour look.

"Then fire away," he said, giving a grin that only served to make Aro look even more sour.

' _If he wasn't a vampire I would think that he'd just eaten a lemon,'_ thought Seth and he sensed Edward, who was standing next to him, trying to muffle a laugh at the thought.

Shooting a mistrustful look in the bronze haired vampire's direction, Aro began the questioning. "How old were you when you first phased into a wolf?"

"Fifteen."

"Did you know that the Cullen's were vampires before you phased?"

"No. That is, I was told that they were by my dad, but I never actually believed him."

"How long did it take you to be able to control your phasing?"

"A week, maybe two?"

"Have you ever physically hurt another human while phasing?"

"No," said Seth, shivering at the thought.

"Do any humans apart from your tribal elders or your Pack's imprints know of the wolves or the vampires?"

"Just my mom and Bella's dad, but Charlie doesn't know about the vampires, just the wolves."

"And how does he know this? I thought your elders kept the secret from other humans?"

"They do, but Jake phased in front of Charlie so he would accept the changes in Bella without discovering that she'd become a vampire."

"I see," said Aro sceptically. "Why are you allied with the Cullen's?"

"Because I like them."

"Really?" Here Aro raised his eyebrows slightly, whether in surprise or disbelief he wasn't sure.

"Yes."

"You don't care about the fact that they are vampires? That they drink blood?"

"No. I don't see them as vampires, I see them as people who have made the best possible choices to survive with the life that they were given. It doesn't bother me that they drink blood, it's what they need to do to survive. Besides, it's animal blood so it's no different to me eating a steak or a cheeseburger, is it?"

"I suppose not..." replied Aro hesitantly, seeing that it would be harder to accuse Seth than he had originally thought.

"What about the others?" He asked, gesturing towards the Cullen's witnesses, "Does it not bother you that they drink human blood?"

Seth hesitated,  _'Gee, I've never really thought about it before,'_ he thought, so he just decided to say whatever popped into his head first.

"Look, I'm not going to pretend that I like the fact that you have to kill humans to eat, but I understand that it's what you are all used to, what you have been taught since you were changed, and I am not going to condemn anyone for that," and he meant every word.

There was a shocked silence in the clearing as everyone processed what he had said, but it was soon broken by the blonde Volturi leader,  _'Caius'_ Seth reminded himself.

"Well, congratulations boy," he said, making no attempt to disguise the contempt in his voice. "You have just proven to all of us what good liars you  _shape shifters_ can be when your lives are on the line."

There was a collective growl from the assembled wolves and Seth furrowed his eyebrows in confusion and indignation, "I don't think that I understand what you mean, " he said to Caius. "I haven't lied to you."

Caius scoffed at his words, "There you go again boy, we  _know_ that you are lying because we  _know_ that all werewolves, Children of the Moon or not,  _hate_ vampires, as do all humans; and you boy, are both."

The stupid generalisation made him angry, "That may be true for other wolves and even humans but it's not true of me. I do not hate any vampires without reason, regardless of their dietary habits."

"STOP LYING!" Caius practically yelled in Seth's face.

Seth began to shake with suppressed rage. i]If there was one thing he hated, it was being called a liar; but before he could lose control and phase, another voice spoke out, light and clear.

"He's not lying."

All heads turned towards the small, delicate looking red-haired vampire girl as she continued to speak.

"My name is Maggie," she began. "I have the ability to sense the truth in a person's words, because when someone is lying it causes me physical pain. I have been listening closely to this  _interrogation_  and I can tell you with absolute certainty that this boy has not lied to you, not once." She smiled gently in Seth's direction, as if to thank him, and he felt a strange sense of happiness at her approval as he returned the gesture.

The vampires on the Cullen's side seemed to go further into shock at Maggie's words, while the Volturi (with the exception of Marcus and the hooded figures) seemed to be trying to control their rage. Finally, Aro spoke again, "It is all very well that you are saying this in the defence of the boy Maggie dearest, but the fact remains that you are on the same side in this little disagreement, and while I am certainly not accusing you of lying, as I understand that you are incapable of doing so, you could be bending the truth to suit your own cause, could you not?"

Everyone jumped as Maggie let loose a feral snarl that should not have come from the mouth of one so delicate looking, but before she could defend herself another voice spoke up, this time from the direction of the Volturi's witnesses.

"I also have some ability to detect the truth," spoke the tall, blonde haired vampire. "I am not sided with the Cullen's, nor am I sided with the Volturi. My mate and I are simply here to witness, and from what we have witnessed and what I know from personal experience, this family is innocent of any wrongdoing and the wolf-boy has spoken nothing but the truth. We do not believe they are of any danger to us, and with your permission Aro, we would like to be on our way."

Again, the Volturi looked furious, but this time there was nothing they could do about it. When Aro eventually thanked the blonde vampire, whose name Seth discovered was Charles, and allowed him to leave with his smaller, dark-haired mate, it was through gritted teeth and with an almost mad look in his eye. The look didn't leave as he turned to Seth and said, "Well boy, it seems that you have honoured our agreement and told us the truth, so we in turn must honour our end of the agreement by recognising that the Quileute wolves pose no threat to the vampires secrecy at this moment in time. You may return to your  _friends,_ " he hissed to Seth, effectively dismissing him.

As he turned to leave, Seth looked once more in the direction of the two hooded vampires, disappointed that he had not had the chance to see their faces. However, as he began to look away, one of the figures shifted and he got a glimpse of a flashing red eye and light brown hair before his mind erupted in burning pain.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth discovers his feeling of anticipation wasn't the fault of some vampite trick, but Seth's own genetics. However, whether this is a relief or not remains to be seen.

SETH POV

' _It hurts, it hurts, ...'_

Seth's mind was completely overrun with pain. He didn't hear Edward telling Aro to make the girl stop, he didn't hear the wolves barking and snarling at the Volturi, and he didn't hear Nessie crying out his name as he swayed and almost fell. In fact he didn't hear anything, didn't notice anything at all except the blood red eyes locked on his and the absolute hate and rage emanating from them.

It was only now that Seth realised that the vampires he had felt so drawn to must be the 'Witch Twins' that had had the Cullen's and their witnesses so worried in the lead up to their confrontation with the Volturi.

Seth was concentrating completely on hiding how he was feeling from the small vampire and the Cullen's, because he knew that his friends would worry even more if they could see the pain on his face and because he didn't want the girl to have the satisfaction of hearing him scream.

It hurt so bad that Seth was surprised to realise that, underneath it all, the feeling of anticipation was still there, and he found himself thinking,  _'I really hope that it's not her who's making me feel this way. I don't care who else it may be, just don't let it be her.'_

He continued to repeat this in his head as the girl narrowed her eyes in frustration and the burning in his brain increased tenfold.

When it seemed as though hours had passed instead of only seconds, a soft, musical voice flowed through the clearing, cutting through the pain like a knife through butter and cooling the fire burning through his body until it was almost nonexistent. 

"Stop sister. That is enough."

As the beautiful voice faded, the pain returned. The girls scowl became deeper and she showed no sign of stopping. It was as if the voice had only fuelled her rage, making her all the more determined to see Seth crack, and it was working too, he was on the verge of collapse when suddenly...

Nothing.

 

* * *

 

The pain was gone, but so was everything else.

Seth couldn't see, hear, smell or feel anything at all. His world was completely black.

Then, just as quickly as everything had disappeared, it returned, minus the pain.

 

* * *

 

Seth stared around the silent clearing in confusion for a few seconds before everything clicked into place. He had heard the vampires speaking about the Volturi's 'Witch Twins', and he remembered that one of them supposedly had the power to cause a person immense pain while the other did the opposite and cut off all of your senses. Judging by what he had seen, Seth guessed that the girl twin was the one who had been torturing him, which meant that the boy twin must have been the one who had stopped her, the one with the beautiful voice that counteracted his sisters burning torture, the one whose very presence was pulling Seth forward like a piece of metal to a magnet.

Realising that he was just standing there with a blank look on his face, Seth started and turned to look at the vampire twins, meaning to thank the boy for his help.

First his eyes landed on the girl, but he turned quickly to the other figure to avoid her burning, hate filled gaze. The boy vampire was still cloaked, face obscured in shadow as Seth stepped forward. 

"Thank you," he said clearly, trying to make out the face in the shadow of the hood as he spoke.

The boy shifted slightly as he replied in the same musical voice that Seth had heard before, but this time Seth didn't hear the simple reply of "You are welcome," for as he moved, the vampire's hood shifted. Just slightly, but it was enough for Seth to catch a glimpse of light brown hair and piercing red eyes. 

Just like that, Seth was gone.

Everything else disappeared- the clearing, the wolves, the vampires. Everything. All that was left were those eyes. Seth couldn't think. He didn't understand what was happening; only that, in this moment, the rest of the world no longer mattered. Not his family, not his pack, not his friends and not the impending battle with the Volturi. All that mattered to Seth, all that would ever really matter to him again, was the vampire boy with the ruby red eyes and the serious stare. Seth knew that it was his mission in life to ensure that the boy was happy,  _always._  He would gladly give his life for the vampire; in fact, he was now the only thing keeping Seth on the earth. He was tying Seth to reality and Seth knew that if that tie was severed he would simply cease to exist.

He had imprinted, and it didn't matter that it was on a vampire, a member of the Volturi, a  _boy_. It didn't matter that his family would kill Seth's without hesitation given the right excuse, or even that  _he_  would probably kill Seth himself if ordered to, because feeling like this, knowing what unconditional love was for even a few short minutes of his life was so  _worth it._

What was feeling like a lifetime of revelations to Seth had actually passed in a matter of seconds, and in this time neither he nor the object of his imprinting moved a millimetre, keeping their eyes locked, gazes never wavering.

Completely taken over by his subconscious, Seth began to walk forward,  _needing_  just to be near this boy, needing to see his whole face, see him smile and laugh. It was all that he needed to live.

And then reality came crashing back. He realised that he was in the middle of what was essentially a battle field and that he was walking toward enemy lines to tell this boy, who had next to no idea who Seth was, that he loved him and wanted to spend the rest of his life with him.

While this would have made Seth incredibly happy, he knew that the vampire boy would not feel the same way. It would make him confused, scared and more than likely, disgusted. This may not have deterred Seth under normal circumstances; however, these were not normal circumstances, and Seth was not going to risk the happiness of his imprint just to satisfy his own desire.

After mustering up a great deal of effort and courage, Seth broke eye contact with the boy, murmured "Thank you," once again, and turned back towards the Cullen's.

He felt Edward's cool arm wrap around his shoulders in sympathy as they walked back to their respective 'families', but he acknowledged neither this nor Jacob's worried nosing at his palm. He felt the shocked gaze of Marcus, who he now remembered could read the strength of relationships and therefore must have been incredibly astonished at the speed and intensity with which imprinting occured, on his back; but he didn't turn to acknowledge that either.

He walked as if in a trance, getting further away from his imprint with every step and feeling his heart trying to tug him in the opposite direction. Seth vowed then that he would find a way to get to his imprint, to make him happy, even if that involved him accepting Aro's offer of becoming a 'guard dog'.

After all, the pain of losing his dignity would be nothing compared to the pain of losing a piece of his heart with every step he took.

 


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As the Volturi prepare to leave Seth asks himself whether it would cause him more pain to leave his family or watch his imprint disappear.

SETH POV

Seth's mind was completely blank yet again, almost as if his brain had been switched off. He was aware of things around him, such as Jacobs's fur rubbing against his arm and Nessie's small hand in his own, but he simply didn't have the energy to care about any of it.

His mind remained blank for a long while, until he was brought back to reality by his imprint's name, "I just need to take out Jane and Alec, then you'll be safe. Well, safer than you would be anyway."

Seth's whole body tensed at Bella's words and he growled under his breath. Several of the surrounding vampires turned to look at him before looking away again, probably assuming that he was excited about the impending fight. The only ones who didn't look away were Bella and Edward. Bella was looking at him with concern while Edward was looking at him with understanding, as if he knew exactly what Seth was feeling.

' _And he probably does,'_ thought Seth, realising that this must have been what Edward felt when Bella was human and everyone wanted to kill her.

"Bella honey, you just focus on keeping us safe from their powers," said Edward gently. "I think it would be best if we left Jane and Alec alone for the moment, at least until we know Aro's intentions. Besides, if you put yourself in danger like that and one of them manages to incapacitateyou," here Edward shivered at the thought, "we would be completely at the mercy of their powers."

Bella's brow creased in confusion, but one gentle look from Edward was all it took for her face to clear. She shrugged, "Okay my love, if that's what you think is best."

Edward nodded at her and Seth relaxed. He sighed in relief and silently thanked Edward, to which the vampire gave a small nod of acknowledgement before turning back to Bella and Carlisle, who were back to discussing tactics.

After assuring himself that the threat to his imprint was gone for the moment, Seth returned to his comatose state, looking at the hooded boy across the clearing and remembering the beautiful red eyes that had completely changed his life less than ten minutes ago.

He didn't notice as Jane tried to attack Carlisle and Bella, and he continued to stare at Alec as the Cullen's and their witnesses divvied up Volturi members to fight (because Vladimir didn't use Alec's name). Then something happened to pull him from his stupor completely, Alec pulled back the hood on his cloak and revealed his entire face, shining red eyes and all.

Seth let out a small gasp that went mostly unnoticed by the vampires and wolves around him.  _'He's beautiful,'_ and to Seth he really was. Not in the regular way that vampires were considered beautiful by human's, but in the heart-stopping, blush inducing, more-gorgeous-than-the-stars way that you thought of the person that you loved when you haven't seen their face in a while-or in Seth's case, at all.

Alec's eyes were just as Seth remembered them, shining ruby red in the sunlight that was also making his skin sparkle like a diamond, although it was somewhat muted because of the clouds that were beginning to form. His hair was the same colour as his sisters, though slightly darker, more of a dark chestnut colour in comparison to Jane's lighter, mousy colour, and was long enough that it covered his eyebrows and framed his face, complimenting his pale complexion and making it look more natural, more  _human_  than on most other vampires, especially the ones with lighter hair.

While Seth was busy committing his imprint's face to memory, Alec looked at across the clearing and made eye contact with him. He seemed startled when Seth didn't break the contact or glare at him, and he almost looked confused until his scrutiny was broken by Jane as she glared at him and nudged him in the ribs. Seth watched as he shook his head as if to clear it of something, and looked across the clearing again, this time avoiding Seth's eye.

Seth was so busy staring at him that he failed to see the mist that was beginning to travel towards his side of the clearing. In fact, he didn't notice it at all until Benjamin ripped a great hole in the earth trying to stop it getting any closer.

Seth realised that this was Alec's power at work, and it upset him to realise that his imprint was attempting to attack them while they were unprepared and supposed to be negotiating. Looking up, he caught Alec's eye again and it was almost as if the vampire could read what he was thinking, for he flinched slightly and the fog actually moved backwards a little before Alec furrowed his brows and it began to travel forwards again.

Nobody else seemed to have noticed the fog's hesitation. They did, however, notice when it hit an invisible wall just in front of Carlisle's nose and stopped moving forward completely, beginning to move upwards instead, searching for a hole in Bella's defence. Alec's confused frown was more prominent now. He was clearly not used to having his power thwarted, and his mist continued to search for weaknesses, but failed to find any.

He continued to try for several minutes, but when Alice and Jasper appeared in the clearing with two vampires and another half-blood the mist disappeared. After speaking for another several minutes and taking a vote, the Volturi finally agreed to leave.

As they moved away, Alec looked back once more and scanned the Cullen's line of vampires, his eyes stopping on Seth. Seth maintained the contact and gave Alec a small smile, trying not to show how much it was hurting to watch him leave, or how hard he had to concentrate to prevent his legs from moving on their own and chasing Alec across the clearing.

Seth almost thought he saw Alec's lips twitch in return to his smile, but before he could be sure, all traces of emotion were gone. Alec nodded slightly to Seth before turning and walking briskly away, not once looking back.

When Edward reported that the Volturi were really gone, everyone cheered except Seth. When Alec disappeared into the trees the pain in Seth's chest had become almost unbearable, and with Edward's confirmation that the Volturi weren't coming back he couldn't hold the pain in any longer, letting the tears run unchecked down his face as he stared at the place where he had last looked upon the love of his life.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth struggles to decide whether he should tell his family and pack of his imprinting or keep it a secret.

SETH POV

Seth felt himself calming unnaturally quickly and he wiped his eyes before turning to find Jasper standing behind him with an uncharacteristic look of concern on his face.

"What's wrong Seth?"

"Nothing," he replied . "I'm just glad that it didn't have to come to a fight to prove you guys are innocent."

He wasn't exactly lying either. Seth hadn't wanted it to come to a fight, because then he would have had to choose sides, and if there was one thing Seth didn't want to have to do it was hurt one of his friends to prevent them from harming his imprint.

Jasper had a disbelieving look on his face at the excuse but Seth knew that he was too polite and reserved to pry any further. He didn't really want to test that theory though, so he quickly changed the subject.

"So, is Alice proud that she used her awesome skills to save the day once again?"

That brought a small smile to Jasper's face, but he was prevented from replying by another, higher pitched voice coming from behind him, "Of course I'm proud Seth, anything to help. I'm just glad that we got back in time to prevent any disasters."

Seth looked past Jasper to see Alice standing with a cheeky grin on her face, and he almost forgot the pain in his chest as he grinned back and replied, "And your happiness has nothing to do with the fact that you now have bragging rights over your whole family?"

Alice's grin grew even bigger at his words, "Well, that too I suppose."

Everyone in the clearing, with the exception Sam's pack and Leah, who had already left, burst into laughter at her words, but then Alice's face grew serious.

"But seriously guys, I was scared we would be too late, I thought that you had begun fighting almost an hour before we got here."

Now everyone looked confused, mirroring the way Seth felt, _'Why would Alice have thought we were fighting them?'_

Bella was the one to voice his thought, "Why would you have thought that Alice?"

The vampire in question paused a moment before replying, "I couldn't keep an eye on you guys because you had the wolves with you, so I kept an eye on the Volturi to see what was going on. I lost sight of Aro for a while, but then he came back again and I realised that he had just been speaking to Seth so I wasn't worried then, but maybe half an hour later Jane's brother Alec disappeared completely and didn't come back. That was when I got worried, because it was like he had died, and I thought maybe you had been forced to fight. It wasn't until we actually got here that I realised he was completely fine, but I still can't see him, which is weird because he's a vampire and I usually see them extremely clearly."

While everyone else in the clearing was sporting confused looks, Seth was worried out of his mind for Alec's safety, "You don't think it means that something's going to happen to him on his way back to Italy do you Alice?"

Not noticing the frantic look on his face, Alice answered, "No, I don't think so Seth. Usually when someone dies I can see the event take place but then lose sight of them after they've passed on, like with Bella on the cliff. Actually, the way Alec disappeared was really unusual because I didn't see anything out of the ordinary happen, one second he was there and the next he was gone. It actually kind of reminds me of what used to happen when Bella would run off with Jacob, except I don't expect there's much of a chance that Alec's run off with his secret werewolf friend to ride a motorcycle, do you?"

Seth laughed along with everyone else. "No, I suppose not," but hope was blossoming in his chest, _'If Alec's disappearance from Alice's visions is like what happens with Bella when she hangs around Jake, then maybe Alec disappeared because I'm going to become a permanent part of his life.'_

The thought made him grin on the outside as well as the inside and he laughed again before picking Alice up and wrapping her in a tight bear hug while spinning in a circle.

The tiny vampire smiled and laughed with glee as he put her down, kissed her on the cheek and said, "Thanks Alice, you're the best."

The witnesses (with the exception of Vladimir and Stefan who had left in disappointment after realising that there wouldn't be a fight) looked completely shocked at the display of affection between werewolf and vampire, but Alice ignored them and all grinned even wider, "I know Seth, I know. Now I just wish that everyone else would realise it so I can get the recognition I deserve."

Seth laughed along with everyone else as Edward shot her down using a few choice words, before he spotted Maggie, the small vampire who had vouched for him while he was being accused of lying by Caius. He walked over to her.

The two tall, imposing vampires on either side of her looked wary as he approached, but Maggie didn't back away as he stopped in front of her and held out his hand, "Hi, I'm Seth."

She shook his hand without flinching and replied, "Maggie."

"Look, I just want to thank you for vouching for me with the Volturi earlier, I really appreciate it."

"It was my pleasure," she replied. "I don't like the way the Volturi manipulate people and condemn them without seeking out the whole truth. Besides, it was refreshing to listen to an interrogation where the person being questioned didn't once lie. I don't think you know how rare it is to find someone so honest."

Seth blushed at the compliment and bowed his head in slight embarrassment as he responded, "Well, I don't like lying, and I'm really not all that good at it anyway."

"That's not necessarily a bad thing," said Maggie, seemingly finding his embarrassment amusing. "Although the downside of not being able to lie well is that when speaking with people who don't have my gift, especially people who know you well, it is all the more difficult to hide the truth from them."

She continued to speak, ignoring his shocked look, "Edward knows what it is that's hurting you and Jasper and the big red wolf suspect that something is wrong. You should tell someone what it is, because it isn't good to keep those kinds of feelings bottled up. They have a nasty tendency to explode from you at the most inopportune of moments."

Seth's surprise at the little vampire's attentiveness was overwhelmed by the affection that he suddenly felt for her, truy touched at the concern she had expressed for him. Always the emotional kind, Seth was faced with a choice, either cry, or hug the vampire he had only just met.

To the surprise of everyone, even Maggie, Seth stepped towards her and hugged her tightly, burying his face in her shoulder and murmuring in her ear, "Thank you."

Getting over her shock at being hugged by a werewolf of all people, and ignoring the tense stances of her coven, Maggie smiled gently and hugged Seth back just as tight and responding just as quietly, "Any time."

When they broke apart Seth ignored the strange looks they were receiving from the rest of the vampires and spoke to Maggie once more, "Thank you once again for your help and advice Maggie, I greatly appreciate it and hope we get the chance to meet again in the future- I have a feeling that you will be a wonderful friend. But if you will excuse me now, I have to go home and speak with my mother and sister."

Maggie's returning grin was spectacular, "We will be great friends Seth, and I don't need a gift like Alice's to promise that. I will make sure that we meet again in the not too distant future. Good luck with your family and I will see you again soon."

Giving one last grin at yet another new vampire friend he had managed to make, Seth ran into the woods in his human form, intent on getting home and explaining the day's events to his mother and sister, hoping beyond hope that they would accept his feelings and give him their blessing when he left to find his imprint.

He ignored the small voice at the back of his mind that told him they wouldn't accept it, not the fact that Alec was a boy and certainly not the fact that he was a vampire. This voice was small, but strong enough to keep Seth from phasing in fear that Leah was still in wolf form and would hear the truth in his thoughts before he got the chance to explain the day's events to her face.

"I just hope they accept it for my sake, even if they can't understand."


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth tells Leah his secret, but can his sister keep such a huge revelation to herself?

SETH POV

After running home as fast as possible while in his human form, Seth hesitated at his front door, too afraid of what would happen after he went inside.

After standing and staring at the door for so long he actually lost track of time, Seth heard the phone ringing inside. There were quick footsteps and then his sister speaking, "Hello?"

Just the sound of Leah's voice put Seth at ease. After all, she was his sister and she loved him just as much as he loved her- the fact that he had imprinted on a vampire wasn't going to change that.

He heard Leah put the phone back down and walk further into the house. Pushing his fears to the back of his mind where he didn't have to listen to them for the moment, Seth took a deep breath and quickly pushed the door open before he could change his mind.

The familiar feel of his home helped Seth calm down. His breathing slowed and his shoulders relaxed at the familiar smell of his Mom's cooking and Leah's flowery shampoo. To his surprise though, when he stepped into the kitchen it wasn't his mother who was cooking, but his sister.

She turned her head to look at him as he walked through the doorway and she smiled. An actual, genuine, happy  _smile._ It shocked Seth so much that he couldn't speak. However, when she greeted him with bigger smile and a cheery "Hey Seth, welcome home," his mouth responded before his brain had time to catch up and he shot out a very surprised and probably Leah-good-mood-killing, "Why are you so happy?"

To Seth's eternal shock, Leah just laughed and added something to the pot on the stove.

"Why wouldn't I be happy little brother? We're both alive and well, the scumbag vampires have left or are in the process of leaving, and pretty soon the Cullen's will leave too and then we'll be leech free."

Seth's heart clenched as he was reminded of the hatred his sister had for the vampires,  _'If she can't even accept the ones who have done nothing but help us then she'll never accept a vampire from the coven that wants nothing more than to see us obliterated_.'

Seth was an optimist at heart, so the abnormally large number of negative thoughts that had been running through his head today had completely worn him out, and he found himself collapsing into one of the kitchen chairs with a pained sigh.

His unusual behaviour caused Leah to turn to him with a worried look, "Are you okay Seth?"

Seth sighed again, "Yeah, I'm fine. Could you just sit down for a minute please? There's something I need to talk to you about."

Worried look still in place, Leah nodded and sat in the chair opposite Seth's, "What is it?"

Taking a deep breath to calm his raging nerves, Seth began, "Leah, you're my sister and I will love you forever. No matter what, I will always accept and support you. You feel the same right?"

Still looking confused and now a little upset Leah replied, "Of course Seth! You're my brother and I love you with all of my heart, you shouldn't even have to ask me that."

"I know, I know," replied Seth. "It's just that this time it's a little different and I just wanted to be sure."

"Seth, what is going on? You're really worrying me now. Are you in some kind of trouble?" She asked, her voice becoming anxious.

"Well..." Seth hesitated, "You could say that, I suppose."

Seth could see Leah almost physically stopping herself from asking more questions, waiting for him to explain.

Sighing deeply yet again, Seth decided to just blurt it out before he lost is nerve again, "Iimprintedonsomebody."

Leah opened her mouth to say something and then closed it again, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion before opening her mouth again, "What? Sorry Seth but I'm afraid I didn't quite catch that."

Working up the courage to say it again, Seth forced himself to speak slowly this time, "I...imprinted on...somebody."

Tensing up in anticipation of the explosion to come, Seth squeezed his eyes shut so he at least wouldn't have to see the shock and anger in Leah's eyes. He knew that her view on imprinting wasn't good, and he couldn't blame her after what had happened with Sam and Emily.

When the explosion he expected didn't immediately come Seth slowly opened his eyes, only to have his view taken over by his sister's hair as she stepped around the table and engulfed him in a tight hug.

"Seth, I'm so happy for you. Why were you so afraid to tell me?" She whispered into his hair. "I know I haven't reacted well to the others imprinting, but that's just because- and if you ever tell anyone this I  _will_ kill you- I was jealous and upset that I wasn't good enough for Sam to imprint on; but my personal anger doesn't influence the way I feel about you Seth. You are my brother and I'm happy if you're happy because I love you."

Pulling slowly out of the hug Leah looked at him, eyes sparkling for once like a regular teenage girl, "So, who is she? Do I know her? And when did this happen?" She asked, barely pausing for breath, "You haven't exactly been surrounded by human company lately, what with all of our time being taken up with protecting the damn leeches. Did you meet her on your way home from the bloodsuckers' house?"

Breathing in deeply through his nose, Seth expelled the air quickly from his mouth. This was going to be the hard bit.

Leah had surprised him with her easy acceptance that he had imprinted on someone, but that wasn't what had had him so worried to tell her. It was the whole, 'my imprintee is one of those bloodsucking vampires that you hate with all of your being' part that had him really concerned.

After convincing Leah to sit back down, Seth reached across the table and grasped her hands with his own. "Please, please just promise to listen to the whole story before you judge me for yourself Leah."

Obviously starting to get impatient now, Leah just nodded, "Yes, I promise Seth. Now who is she?"

"Leah... It's not a she."

A look of complete shock covered his sister's face and she began to speak, "But..."

Seth cut her off before she could properly begin, "No Leah, you promised to hear me out."

Leah looked affronted but she did close her mouth and nod once, indicating Seth to continue.

"I never expected to imprint on a boy, but it didn't come as a complete shock to me. You know I've never really cared about people's gender because I've never understood why people insist that you are either straight or gay. You should be with whoever makes you happy, regardless of what they have in their pants-to put it crudely," Seth began.

"This is the bit you're not going to like Leah," he continued. "You remember that feeling of anticipation I had when we were facing the Volturi in the clearing? The one we thought was caused by one of the vampire's powers?"

Leah nodded in agreement, not wanting to interrupt Seth's tale by speaking out loud.

"Well it turns out we were only half right. The feeling  _was_  caused by one of the vampires, but wasn't one of their conscious powers. It was me being drawn to them by the...  _power,_ I guess... of imprinting."

Yet again Leah looked shocked, and then confused, and finally angry.

"You're kidding right?!" She practically yelled.

At Seth's slight head shake she became furious, "You expect me to believe that you imprinted on a  _vampire_? A monstrous, bloodsucking, murdering  _leech_?"

When all she received in return for her tirade was a small nod, Leah grew even more frustrated. Standing up violently from her chair she began pacing around the room, occasionally turning around to look at Seth as she tore him to pieces with her words; "That is disgusting! How could you possily think that this would be okay? I wouldn't have cared if you imprinted on a regular, human guy. I mean, I wouldn't have liked it, but I wouldn't have tried to stop you; but a vampire is a completely different thing!"

"What did you expect would come from this? From you telling me?" She asked, almost screaming in Seth's face at this point. "Did you think that I would just accept it? Just smile and wish you happiness in your future with a  _mass murderer_?"

"Or worse," she stopped pacing and grew unusually quiet, almost whispering. "Did you think that because of what happened in my relationship with Sam I would  _understand_?"

At this Seth finally spoke, "No Leah, I never expected for a second that you would understand. All I ask is that you accept it for what it is and move on."

His voice grew steadily louder as all of the pent-up frustration of the day poured out of him in a rush, "You have to understand that I didn't ask for any of this anymore than you did Leah, but it happened, and now, knowing how it feels I wouldn't change it for the world. I know that it's going to be hard, and I know that you really, really don't like vampires, but I do. They're some of my best friends! Their skin doesn't feel uncomfortably cold to me, or unbearably hard and I have never once thought that their smell was repulsive. So unlike many, if not all other wolves, imprinting on a vampire isn't a complete tragedy for me."

Still looking disgusted, Leah came up with yet another argument, "But Seth, they're  _murderers._ They kill people without a second thought and without feeling any kind of remorse. They're  _not human._ "

Rolling his eyes in exasperation Seth spoke in the most patronising tone he could muster, "Yes Leah, I am well aware that vampires are not completely human but then, neither are we."

Dropping the tone he continued, "I am also aware of their eating habits, and while I am not in any way going to pretend that I like it, I can understand that they need blood to survive and that the vampires who were 'raised' by the Volturi don't know any different. That's what they've been taught ever since they were first changed, and they have never known of the possibility of different food."

Seth could see Leah getting frustrated again, and sure enough the next words out of her mouth were not nice ones; "You can spout your 'everyone's equal' and 'all people have the capacity for good' crap all you want Seth. I'm not buying it, and I am never going to understand or condone whatever this  _infatuation_ is that you claim to have with a vampire."

It was the derogative tone she used to casually dismiss his feelings for Alec that finally undid Seth. He slumped back into his chair and covered his eyes so Leah couldn't see the tears running thick and fast down his face.

Even with his face covered Leah could tell something she said had crossed a line, and now something was very wrong. She was still too mad to comfort him properly, but that didn't mean she liked seeing her little brother upset like this, so she tried to bring her point across more gently, "Seth, I understand that you have possibly imprinted on this vampire, but what I don't understand is how you can accept it so readily or feel that it is in any way right."

Refusing to lift his face Seth spoke into his hands, which meant that Leah had to lean in close to hear his muffled words, "Like I said before Leah, I don't need you to understand. I just need you to accept that is a very real fact. You don't even have to like it, just don't make me choose between you and him because I can't do that, I just can't."

With this Seth finally looked up, showing Leah the torn and tortured look in his eyes. She instantly melted at the look, compassion welling in her heart for the pain her only sibling was feeling because of her.

Just as torn as Seth, Leah finally made up her mind and knelt on the floor next to her brother, placing her hand gently on is knee and whispering one word, "Okay."

Seth looked at her in shock, "What?"

Leah squeezed his leg gently and continued, "I understand what it feels like to be torn between people you love, and I don't want to be the cause of you feeling that. While I still don't understand this, and I probably never will, I can accept it as something that is going to happen whether I approve or not. I would rather see you happy in a relationship with a vampire than lose you, which is what would happen if I tried to keep you apart. I am an expert in what happens when you try and make someone chose between you and their imprint; last time I tried it did not end well for me at all and I don't want that to happen again, not with you Seth. Just don't expect me to meet him and get all chummy. In fact, I would definitely prefer it if I never had to hear of this ever again."

Although this wasn't the best outcome Seth could have hoped for, it was one thousand times better than the worst he had considered.

Working up a watery smile and a small nod, he was desperately trying to think of something to say to break the awkward silence they had fallen into when a loud knock at the front door caused them both to jump.

"I'll get it," said Leah, almost sprinting away to escape the awkwardness and the lingering anger and upset in the room.

As she left, Seth straightened himself in the chair and wiped his eyes, hoping that whoever came in wouldn't notice the tear tracks on his cheeks.

Luckily, when Jared stepped into the kitchen he seemed to be oblivious to the faint redness in Seth's eyes as well as Leah's tense stance.

He stopped in the doorway and spoke to Seth, "Hey Seth, sorry to do this to you when you've just got home kid, but we need someone to go back to the Cullen's and just make sure that all of their little vamp friends leave without a fuss. We hate to ask you when you've already done so much to help us with them, but you're the only one who can stand to be within a hundred yards of any of the bloodsuckers without either wanting to vomit or rip a leeche's head off and burn it."

Jared laughed heartily at his own joke and didn't seem to notice that Leah's laugh was darker than usual and Seth failed to laugh at all, simply nodding and replying with a curt, "Happy to help."

"Good! So you won't mind if I stay here and eat your serve then," said Jared, indicating the pot on the stove with a greedy grin.

"Sure," answered Leah. "Help yourself, I'm just gonna walk Seth to the leech residence, I don't trust him not to get into trouble with all of these stray bloodsuckers wandering around."

Jared nodded absently as he ladled the contents of the pot into the biggest bowl he could find, not even looking up as they left the house, closing the front door behind them.

Most of the relatively short walk from the Clearwater house to the Cullens was spent in yet another awkward silence, until they reached the beginning of the Cullen's long driveway and Leah stopped and turned to Seth, "I hope you're going to tell mom about this... this  _thing_  Seth."

Flinching at her tone, Seth shook his head. "No, not yet I'm not. Mom hates vampires even more than you do and you did not react well at all. I think it would be best if I waited a while before telling her."

"You can't do that Seth!" Snapped Leah, "She's our mother and you can't keep something like this from her."

"I don't want to Leah, but I'm just not ready to tell her right now. I'm only just coming to terms with everything myself! I will tell her soon, I promise, just not yet. And you can't tell her either Leah, this is something I have to do myself. It will be better for all of us if it comes from me."

Glaring at him in frustration Leah huffed, "Whatever," before storming back the way they had come. Seth looked after her until she disappeared around a bend in the trees, before he finally turned and made his way down the long path to the Cullen's house.

' _Thank you for accepting me, sister.'_

* * *

 

LEAH'S POV

She was so angry,  _'How could Seth do this to me? I can't keep something like this from mom, it just isn't right!'_

Leah's thoughts continued along these lines as she walked home, and she was still suffering from the same indecision as she pretended to listen to Jared talking like he had had been solely responsible for the retreat of the Volturi, while he single-handedly scoffed most of the food in their house.

When Jared finally left to go and see Kim, Leah barely noticed as she continued with her internal battle, trying to decide whether to keep the secret from her mother and thus keep her promise to Seth, or to break the promise to her brother and possibly stop him from running away with a vampire and making the biggest mistake of his life, as she saw it.

When her mother finally returned from Charlie's later that night, Leah still hadn't decided what she was going to do; but when Sue asked her how she and Seth were doing after the events of the day, and worried out loud about Seth being alone with only Jacob for protection in a house full of vampires, Leah became angry at her brother.

' _She loves Seth so much and he wants to keep this a secret from her. Mom would never do anything to hurt him! I can't just sit by and let her live her life oblivious to this while Seth runs around with his secret vampire boyfriend.'_

Answering her mother's questions on autopilot, Leah was still rather reluctant to betray her brother's trust. Afterall, he hadn't even seen their mother since this whole imprinting mess started, and she was hoping maybe he'd change his mind about telling her when he actually saw her face-to-face.

Sue seemed to sense Leah's inner turmoil, leaving her to her thoughts until just before she went to bed when she leaned down and gently kissed her on the forehead whispering, "You know I love you Leah?"

Feeling a sudden burst of love for her mother, Leah responded in kind, "I love you too Mom."

Then, as her mother began to leave the room slowly, obviously giving her a chance to talk about what was troubling her, Leah suddenly made her decision.

"Mom, there's something I need to tell you."

 


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Edward has some potentially good news for Seth regarding certain members of the Volturi.

SETH POV

Seth was sitting in the corner of the Cullens' living room desperately trying to keep his eyes open.

After drifting off for the umpteenth time only to realise what had happened and shake himself awake once more, prying his drooping eyelids open through sheer force of will as they threatened to close yet again, Seth grew tired of fighting a losing battle and jumped to his feet, shaking his head violently in the process, as though that would somehow help him to stay awake.

He stopped the violent action as he realised that the heads of everyone in the room, with the exception of Jacob and Renesmee who were asleep together on the sofa, were facing him with either amused or confused expressions.

Emmett was the first to break the silence with his loud guffaw that seemed to shake the very room, "Tired Seth?" he managed to ask between his bouts of laughter.

Seth blushed and looked embarrassedly at his dirty, bare feet on the Cullen's white carpet and muttered, "Just a little."

Taking pity on the embarrassed shape shifter, Esme stood up and gently placed a small, comforting hand on his shoulder. "We have plenty of beds here that you are welcome to use Seth- if you don't feel up to going home?"

Seth shook his head (gently this time) and looked into the kind golden eyes of the motherly vampire, "I'm okay Esme, but thank you for the offer all the same. It's not that I don't want to go home yet, I'm just putting it off until the last possible moment."

The kind-hearted woman nodded in understanding, "Would you at least like something to eat?"

"No, but thank you again for your kindness-all of you," here Seth looked past Esme and addressed the other occupants of the room as well, "But I really should be getting home now."

Everyone nodded and said their goodbyes and Edward offered to drive him to the border of Quileute territory, an offer that Seth, in his thoroughly worn out state, accepted gladly.

After saying his goodbyes, Seth left the Cullen's house with Edward. The first couple of minutes of their drive were spent in a comfortable, slightly sleepy, on Seth's part, silence; however, once they reached the highway Edward pulled his Volvo to the side of the road and turned to Seth with his serious 'we need to talk' face.

Edward didn't waste time asking Seth how he was doing because he could read it perfectly well through his thoughts, and in return Seth just stared him straight in the eyes, hiding nothing from his friend,  _'I'm fine Edward. You need to stop worrying about everything so much! You couldn't have stopped what happened, and it's really not up to you to fix it. This is my problem and the only thing you can possibly accomplish by trying to solve it for me is to stress yourself out.'_

Edward sighed gently, "I know. It's just that you always help everyone else deal with their problems and it's not fair that when something actually happens to you, you have to face it alone."

"I'm not alone," replied Seth with a genuine smile. "All of my friends are helping me in their own, indirect way, even if most of them don't realise they're doing it."

Rolling his eyes in exasperation at Seth's constant optimism, Edward pulled his car back onto the highway as he replied, "I suppose that is true. However  _I_ do know what is going on, and there may be some small way in which I can consciously help you to deal with this."

Smiling slightly at the puzzled look Seth sent him Edward continued, "The youngest-looking leader of the Volturi, Marcus, you know, the one who looked bored throughout pretty much all of the proceedings earlier today, has the ability to see the strength of a relationship between two people, vampire or otherwise."

Doing his best to ignore the panicked looks and thoughts that Seth was sending his way at the news, Edward kept speaking.

"You can imagine the shock that someone with that particular power felt when he saw the sudden appearance of such a strong feeling develop between you and Alec. At first he didn't know what had happened, he even wondered if we had a vampire on our side with the ability to interfere with his powers, because in the centuries since he has been changed, Marcus has never before witnessed such a strong bond, the strongest he's ever seen, appear within mere seconds of the two people making eye contact."

Here Seth had to interrupt, "The strongest he's ever seen?" he asked, an almost childish hope shining in his eyes for the first time that day.

"The strongest he's ever seen," confirmed Edward, his eyes twinkling in amusement and happiness that he had at least partially accomplished his goal to bring happy-Seth back.

Suddenly, Seth slumped back in his chair, feeling depressed and close to tears for what felt to him like the fiftieth time that day, "But Marcus is one of the leaders of the Volturi, so now they're all going to know that I imprinted on Alec and they're going to use that against us. I'm so, so sorry about this Edward."

"Hey, don't apologise Seth, it's not as if you asked for this to happen," said Edward, placing a hand on Seth's shoulder in an attempt to calm him down. "Besides, I haven't finished telling you about Marcus yet."

Seth nodded at Edward, "Okay, you're right." He quickly wiped his eyes, which Edward graciously pretended not to notice, and turned his attention back to the vampire.

"Okay Seth, I'm going to give you the short version," he began. "When Marcus first met Aro he was introduced to Aro's sister Didyme. They fell in love, but after only a few centuries together Didyme was killed. Nobody knows who the murderer was, but the pain of losing his mate destroyed Marcus and for many years he was close to suicide."

Here both Seth and Edward paused and shivered at the thought of ever having to go through that pain, though Edward soon brought himself back to reality and continued his recount, "Aro used the powers of Chelsea, one of the Volturi's guards, to bind Marcus to him and Caius so he would not follow through with his plans. Despite this manipulation, he has never been the same, nor has he been particularly involved or enthusiastic in the plots of his fellow leaders. Anyway, before he left with his coven today, Marcus communicated with me telepathically that he does not want you to have to go through what he went through." Here Edward paused with a thoughtful look. It seemed that he came to some sort of decision because he once again pulled his car to the side of the road and looked at Seth.

"I don't want to get your hopes up by telling you this Seth, but you deserve to know," said Edward slowly.

Although feeling incredibly confused at the vampire's words Seth nodded in agreement and Edward continued, "Marcus told me that he believes you to be a genuinely kind and honest person and, as such, he thinks you deserve to be as happy as possible. He has therefore sworn to share nothing of what he witnessed occurring between you and Alec, and he even went so far as to promise to do his utmost best to ensure that you and Alec meet again soon. He also wanted me to pass on to you that, although he is not vocal about it, Alec is one of the most accepting of the Volturi and will probably be more likely to be open to the idea of entering into a relationship with a werewolf, or in your case, a shape shifter."

Obviously noticing the excitement building in Seth's expression, Edward was quick to make sure that he wouldn't rely too heavily on what may very well be false hope, "But you can't rely completely on this Seth. Marcus may not be able to make everything happen and if, by some kind of miracle, he can, then Alec's reaction is not set in stone. Nobody can predict what he could do."

Seth's felt his face being overcome by an involuntarily brilliant grin, "But there's hope Edward! That is far more that I had a few minutes ago. Even if Marcus can't arrange for me to meet Alec alone at least I know there is one member of the Volturi, a leader no less, that's on my side! My future is looking decidedly less bleak right now."

Breathing heavily, he paused in his rant, wide grin still in place, before his excitement overcame his self-restraint and Seth almost leapt across the car, still with his seatbelt on, and wrapped his vampire friend in a bone-crushing bear hug.

Despite the cramped space of the car, Edward managed to get one arm around Seth's shoulders and hug him back, smiling at the ecstatic chant of "Thank you, thank you, thank you..." being whispered in his ear.

Seth finally pulled back, grin still firmly in place, and Edward pulled onto the highway for the third time, this time with a small smile of his own, affected by the enormity of Seth's complete happiness.

Just as the friends were nearing the Quileute border another car drove past them, this one older and much shabbier than Edward's silver Volvo.

After passing them the car braked and turned, now driving in the same direction. Edward slowly pulled over for the third time and turned to Seth.

"It's Embry; he was driving to our house to pick you and Jacob up. A council meeting has been called by the elders and your presence is required."

His smile slightly smaller now, Seth nodded, "Okay, thanks Edward. See you soon." He leaned across the car to hug his friend once again, fortunately with slightly less enthusiasm than the last time, before opening the door and getting out.

Seth felt Edward's eyes on him as he walked to Embry's car, which had pulled over just behind them. He didn't feel the gaze waver until he had gotten into the car with his fellow shape-shifter, waved off the need for an explanation for the unplanned pick-up, and they had driven off.

As Embry's car crossed the borderline to the Quileute lands, he caught sight of Edward's tail lights disappearing in the rear-view mirror, and he was overcome with a strange feeling of grief, feeling that this was the last time he would see his friend for a long while.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Some things are revealed at the pack meeting that Seth would rather have hidden.

SETH POV

The car ride to the hall where the council/pack meetings are held was short but awkward. Neither shape-shifter wanted to discuss the events of earlier that day, and as they had spent the last several months in separate packs neither Seth nor Embry really had anything to talk about aside from the trouble with the Volturi, so they quickly fell into a slightly awkward silence.

Acknowledging that there was going to be no speaking that wasn't a forcedly polite conversation, Seth used the fifteen minute drive to catch up on some much needed sleep.

What felt like seconds after he had closed his eyes, Seth found himself being shaken gently awake by Embry, "C'mon Seth, were here."

Groaning quietly Seth all but rolled out of the car in exhaustion, thinking,  _'I just want to sleep! Is that really too much to ask?'_

Managing to pretty much stagger into the hall, much to Embry's amusement, Seth finally reached the room in which the meeting was being held. He managed a brief nod in the direction of Sam and the elders, who apparently included his mother now, before collapsing into one of the comfortable chairs spaced around the table and closing his eyes in relief.

Seth ignored the laughter and teasing that erupted from around the table at his actions, simply revelling in the comfort that he knew would be short-lived.

Once his pack-mates had been silenced by the (also amused) Elders, Seth reluctantly dragged his eyes open and attempted to sit up straighter in his chair to show some semblance of respect. He looked up just as Old Quil was standing to begin the meeting.

Before Old Quil could begin though, he was interrupted by his grandson Quil Jr who said, "Hang on, where's Jake?"

Realising that every eye at the table was focused on him Seth answered, "He's asleep on the Cullen's couch with Nessie."

Nodding to acknowledge this information Old Quil spoke, "Then since it is unlikely that he will be joining us we shall begin the meeting."

The old man turned so that he was addressing the whole room and spoke again, "This meeting of the council of Elders and the senior members of the Quileute wolf packs has been called to discuss the events that took place early this morning on the property of Carlisle Cullen and his family. I will expect to hear a full recount from each of you on your experiences, leaving  _nothing_ out; however, considering the condition that some of you are in," here he looked at Seth, who blushed, "We will save the individual recounts for another day. For now I would like to hear from you Sam, everyone else may listen, and please feel free to add anything you feel is important that Sam may have missed."

Sighing quietly in relief at the fact that he didn't have to focus hard enough to tell his version of events right now, Seth leaned back in his chair and relaxed.  _'You're going to have to tell it at some point Seth,'_ said a small part of his mind that sounded suspiciously like his sister,  _'You heard Old Quil; he doesn't want you to tell your part_ today.  _That means he's still going to want to hear it at some point.'_

Choosing to ignore the warnings that his mind was giving off, Seth stopped thinking and simply relaxed, allowing himself to be lulled slowly to sleep by the deep sound of Sam's voice as he told the Elders of the day's events.

To Seth's annoyance his peaceful slumber was broken yet again, this time by a loud, collective gasp coming from the Elders and his name being called  _again._

Getting seriously sick of people interrupting his much-needed sleep time, Seth growled under his breath before opening his eyes to look at the Elders, only to have his frustration melt away at the worry and concern in his mothers gaze, which was apparently directed at him.

"Seth, why didn't you tell me that you  _volunteered_ to speak with those vampires? Why didn't you tell me that they  _tortured you_?" Asked Sue, her voice trembling with suppressed anger directed at both Seth and the vampires who had dared to hurt her baby boy.

Seth flinched at the tone of his mother's voice as well as the subject of her anger. Truthfully, he had all but forgotten about the burning pain of Jane's power; in the aftermath of his imprinting it just didn't seem to be all that important. Apparently his mother disagreed, although, to be fair, she didn't actually know that he had imprinted on said evil-vampire's brother, so he managed to work up a part-way truthful reply to palacate her.

"I haven't seen you since it happened mother. In between that happening and now I've been way too busy making sure the vampires left peacefully to seek you out," he began. "Besides it's not that big a deal. One of us had to talk to them, and I was, and still am, the best wolf to have done it. None of you can possibly disagree with that?"

Here he looked around the table to see most people nodding in reluctant agreement of his argument, but when he looked to his mother she still wasn't convinced, so he felt compelled to deepen the lie. Feeling so very guilty, he was barely reassured by the fact that the lie would make his mother feel better and stop worrying so much, he said, "And don't worry Mom, I would hardly call what they did to me  _torture._ Surely Sam told you about Bella's new power?"

When Sue nodded he continued, "Well the vampire hardly had time to use her power on me before Bella blocked it, so there's really no harm done."

Although she did not look particularly happy, Seth was sure that his explanation had fixed his mother's worry and, hopefully even helped her on the way to accepting the Cullen's.

Seth prepared himself to relax into his chair and go back to sleep as Sam opened his mouth to continue his recount when he was suddenly shocked into full awareness by his mother's next words, "Wait Sam, if you will, I have another issue concerning my son that I would like to discuss with everyone."

Seth's blood ran cold and he looked across the table at Leah, trying to reassure himself that she hadn't told- that his mother didn't know about Alec. When his sister avoided his gaze with a guilty look it took all of Seth's will-power not to burst into tears and run from La Push immediately.

He watched fearfully as Sue scanned the faces of everyone at the table, pausing to look at him last. He flinched at the steel in her eyes, but he couldn't tell what she was thinking as she looked away and opened her mouth to speak; all he could do was hope that his mother wouldn't do this to him, not in front of everyone, and not before he could explain.

Seth's hopes were shattered, however, when Sue spoke, "It would seem that my son is under the impression that he has imprinted."

She paused to let this information sink in, and Seth looked fearfully at the others, whose expressions ranged from shock to excitement.

"Congratulations Seth!" exclaimed Quil, a huge smile on his face, "I'm so happy for you!"

"Yeah Seth, who's the lucky girl?" Asked Paul with an equally large grin.

Seth couldn't bring himself to answer them, nor could he work up the courage to look at his guilty sister or his disappointed mother, so he turned his eyes to the table top and tried his best to block out his surroundings. When the questions of his friends began to change from excited to worried at his lack of positive response, Seth felt tears prickling his eyes and threatening to fall.

The pack fell silent as Sue began to speak again, "Yes, when Leah first told me I was excited for Seth too; what kind of mother wouldn't be happy when her only son finds his true love?" Her voice grew slightly louder and gained a dangerous edge that did not go unnoticed by everyone else in the room, "However, the more she told me, the more I became convinced that something was wrong, because if what Leah tells me is true, my youngest child, my  _only son_  thinks that he has fallen in love with a  _boy._ "

There was a heavy silence around the table and Seth felt the eyes of the entire pack upon him once again. He tried desperately to curl in on himself and disappear into his chair while still looking at the table to avoid seeing the shocked and disgusted looks he knew must be on his friends' faces.

' _How could she do this to me?'_ Seth thought in despair,  _'She is my mother. She's supposed to care about me and place my feelings above everyone else's. She is supposed to want to listen to my side of the story before jumping to conclusions and parading my feeling in front of everyone as if there is something wrong with me. As if I_ chose  _for this to happen.'_

And apparently she still wasn't finished, "I admit that I was shocked by this. I have never had any reason to suspect that my son might prefer the company of men, but I was willing to accept it so long as Seth was happy. However, what I heard next I simply  _cannot_ accept under any circumstances, because not only does my son think that he has imprinted on a man, that man is not even human. He is an unnatural, cold hearted, murdering demon!"

Seth flinched. The words that his mother was using to describe Alec were sending barbs of icy pain into his chest, and he felt a fierce need to prove her wrong, but he still couldn't bring himself to look up. He could hear the rest of the pack shifting in their chairs, probably confused by Sue's choice of words. Apparently frustrated that they didn't understand what she was implying, Sue's voice became low and venomous, "He imprinted on a  _vampire."_

The effect her words had was instantaneous. Everyone at the table immediately began speaking and Embry even fell off of his chair in shock.

Due to the cloud of despair that had fallen over his mind and the fact that everyone was talking at the same time, Seth couldn't understand any one thing that was being said, although he did catch snippets of words that were spoken louder than everything else, "Impossible... Unnatural... Disgusting."

That the people he had thought to be his best friends could have turned on him so quickly, and without even asking for his version of the story, hurt Seth more than he ever would have thought possible, and it was only through sheer force of will that he managed to keep his tears from falling thick and fast.

After what seemed like an age, the talking stopped as one voice yelled above the others, "Silence!"

Billy Black loomed at the head of the table, glaring down at everyone as if daring them to defy his order. When silence had fallen and everyone, with the exception of Seth, who was still staring at the table, had turned their attention to the aged council leader, Billy spoke.

"Some very serious accusations have been made here tonight, and while I am sure we can all agree that Sue is a reliable and truthful person, the fact remains that she did not gain her information directly from the source. Therefore, I think it is only fair that the accused be allowed the chance to defend himself," Billy spoke with a clear, commanding tone that had everyone at the table nodding in agreement.

Seth could feel Billy's dark eyes on him, but he refused to look up until he was spoken to directly. After a minute of tense silence Billy grew impatient, "Seth, is the information your mother has given us tonight true? Have you indeed imprinted on a male vampire?"

Still refusing to look up from the table, Seth simply nodded his head jerkily.

With his admission, the Quileute's once again burst into conversation, this time even louder and more accusatory. Once again it took one of the elders, this time it was Sue, yelling for silence before everyone stopped talking.

"Now," began Seth's mother with a strange glint in her eyes, "Seth has confessed to what he believes has happened, but I think we need to call upon all of our knowledge before we condemn him."

Believing that the coming speech would be about how it had been a long day and he was obviously so traumatised by the whole situation that he was imagining things, or some kind of similar drivel, Seth began to tune out, which is why he was so totally unprepared for what she actually said.

"With everything we know about imprinting, what really happened to Seth should have been painfully obvious from the very beginning."

Here she paused for what Seth assumed was dramatic affect before continuing with conviction, "One of the vampires that you fought today must have used their unnatural powers to convince my son that he has imprinted on them!"

This, of course, started a whole new round of arguments. Half of the pack (Paul, Embry and Leah) seemed convinced that Sue's theory was correct, while the other half (Jared, Sam and Quil Jr) argued that no vampire, no matter how powerful, could possibly duplicate the feeling of imprinting.

All of this arguing was giving Seth a major headache, so fortunately for him the action of him dropping his head onto the table and covering his ears with his hands caused everyone to quit talking and stare at him in surprise.

"See!" screeched Sue, jumping at the chance to defend her son and obviously not noticing, or maybe caring, that his head was hurting more because of it she continued to argue, "We have known for quite some time now that imprinting in Quileute wolves occurs in order to produce stronger wolves. Now this knowledge proves that Seth hasn't imprinted, because even if it _was_ somehow possible for a vampire and a werewolf to procreate, there is absolutely no way that a child could be produced from a relationship between Seth and this  _leech,_ because they are both male."

Completely sick of other people trying to control  _his_ life, Seth ignored the throbbing in his temples and slammed both of his fists onto the table, causing it to shake violently, and raised his eyes to look at the tribe for the first time since the subject of his imprinting had been broached.

"THAT'S IT!" he yelled, "I am so sick of this! It's my life, my mind, and my imprint, and I am perfectly capable of making my own decisions on the matter!"

The whole table was shocked into silence; none of them had ever seen Seth lose control like this, he was usually so calm and carefree.

Sue tried to speak, "Seth, you don't-"

He cut her off, "Yes I do Mother, I know exactly what is going on. I've shared the pack's thoughts for almost a year now, and in the time since I've joined, four of them have imprinted, _f_ _our_ mom. And while I had never experienced it personally, I have felt what it is like many times before today, it would have been impossible not to. Sharing the thoughts and feelings of everyone else as it happened to them meant I felt it too, which is exactly how I know that me imprinting on Alec is one hunderd percent  _real,_ because it feels a thousand times stronger than any of the feelings I've felt from the others. You just have to accept that."

Seth looked at his mother pleadingly; trying to prove with his eyes alone that he wasn't confused, that what he felt for Alec was real; but Sue continued to argue, "But that's not how imprinting  _works_ Seth."

"How do you know?" he snapped, becoming increasingly annoyed at her denial. He turned so that he was addressing the entire table, "Where's the  _proof_? What makes you all so sure that imprinting only happens so that we can produce stronger wolves? Who's to say that we don't just imprint on our soul mate, for lack of a better word?"

"What do you mean Seth?" asked Quil, seeming genuinely interested in what he had to say.

"What if imprinting isn't for the 'greater good'?" he elaborated, "What if it is a completely selfish thing that exists only to pair us with the person that we will be happiest with? You could say that it's just shortening the process and increasing the certainty of something that should have happened eventually anyway."

Looking around the table, Seth noticed that some of the wolves actually looked half convinced.

He avoided looking at Leah for the very same reason that he hadn't told anyone of his imprinting theory before now, because if he was right then Sam fell in love with Emily because she was a better emotional match for him than Leah had ever been, and Seth knew that that knowledge would hurt his sister.

Before he had a chance to get too hopeful that the pack would agree with him, Billy spoke again, "You have presented your argument Seth, and I personally think that you are incorrect. Your mother's argument seems far more plausible, and there is no proof to back you up on what seems to be only wild guesswork at best. However, it is only right that the entire council vote on the matter."

Seth was livid,  _'I can't believe he just did that. He basically suggested that I am completely off my rocker and that I'm just making everything up on the spot to save my hide! I AM NOT A LIAR!'_

As he had proven with the way he reacted to Caius earlier, if there was one thing that Seth hated it was being accused of lying, and as a result he was practically shaking with rage as Billy called for the vote, "Will all those who believe that Seth's imprinting theory has some grain of truth in it please raise their hands?"

Besides Seth, Quil Jr, Paul and Old Quil raised their hands in agreement. Although everyone looked shocked at Old Quil's vote, both Billy and Sue smirked in satisfaction as Billy continued, "Will all those who agree that Seth has not imprinted and is merely under the influence of vampire powers please raise their hands?"

As expected, all remaining council members, including Leah, who refused to make eye contact with Seth, raised their hands in agreement.

"Well, it seems that at four to six the majority is in favour of Sue's idea," said Billy, smiling. "I think that the rest of the council will agree that it would be best if you severed all ties with the vampires Seth, at least until we have found a way to break this enchantment you are under the influence of."

Seth deflated, all of the fight leaving him as he realised that they were never going to accept his imprinting, so he nodded tiredly and stood up from the table, making to leave the room.

"Seth, where are you going?" his mother's worried voice called from behind him.

Seth turned briefly in the doorway to face her, "To say goodbye," he said simply.

Although she looked as if she wanted to argue, Sue reluctantly nodded her assent, "Don't be home too late."

As he left the room, Seth knew everyone had assumed that he was going to say goodbye to Jacob and the Cullen's, and he was.

He just didn't plan on coming back.

* * *

First, Seth stopped off at his house to pack a small bag. He didn't pack anything personal, just a clean shirt and a couple of pairs of pants as well as all of the cash he had hidden in the cover of one of his old books. Stashing all of this away, he then grabbed several sheets of paper and a pen and sat at his desk to write his farewells. Once finished, the letters were sealed into three separate envelopes, placed in a waterproof bag and wrapped in one of his scarves to be placed carefully in the bag with his clothes.

Looking around his room for one last time, Seth felt his heart clench in his chest, and tears began to well up in his eyes. He took a deep, calming breath before turning and walking quickly from his home of sixteen years.

He didn't look back.

 

* * *

 

Running quickly through La Push, Seth finally reached the long drive that lead to the Cullen's house. Not wanting to risk one of them hearing him, especially Edward, Seth stopped there and removed the bundled up letters from his pack, placing them in the hollow of a nearby tree where he knew the vampires would easily find them because of his scent all over the scarf he had wrapped them in.

He made to turn away, but found his eyes drawn down the long drive against his will. Seth imagined he could see the Cullen's house; the lights would be on from force of habit, not necessity. Jacob and Nessie would still be curled comfortably on the couch sleeping; Carlisle would probably be reading, and Esme drawing. Emmet and Rosalie would be together, probably in the middle of some kind of competition of strength or wit, and Alice would be playing chess with Jasper, having roped him into it despite the fact that the quietest vampire knew he could never beat her.

Seth felt his heart clench once again, and this time he couldn't stop the tears from falling, though he quickly dashed them away.

' _This is for the best,'_ he tried to assure himself, as if thinking it hard enough would make the pain of leaving his best (and now only) friends any less.

He didn't know how long he stood there at the entrance of the driveway, trying to convince himself to turn and leave, but it took a car speeding past him on the highway for Seth to snap out of his trance.

Realising that if he remained any longer he would probably lose both his nerve and his head start, Seth turned abruptly and strode into the forest, walking quickly. This time it was much harder not to look back.

Once he was far enough from the highway, Seth stopped behind a tree and stripped, folding his clothes and placing them neatly in his backpack before phasing into his wolf form.

He was immensely relieved that neither Jacob nor Leah was in their wolf form at the same time, because if either had read his thoughts at the moment they would have wasted no time in chasing him down and bringing him back, though it would have been for two completely different reasons.

He picked up his pack between his teeth, took a deep breath, and sprinted as fast as he could in the opposite direction of La Push and Forks.

Seth found that the faster he ran, the harder he had to concentrate on the forest around him and his paws as they hit the ground, which meant that there was little room in his head for emotional pain and worry. It also helped that the further he ran from the Quileute border, the less his chest hurt. Seth wasn't sure if this was because he had escaped the people who were persecuting him or because he was getting closer to Alec, which he couldn't actually be sure of anyway. Whatever the reason, Seth felt freer than he had in what felt like a very long time.

After who knows how many hours of non-stop sprinting the sun began to peek over the horizon, casting long shadows on the forest floor. Seth found himself getting more and more tired, and eventually his legs collapsed beneath him after he tripped over a tree root that he hadn't noticed was cutting across his path.

Finally having to admit that it was time to stop, Seth phased back into his human form so that none of the wolves could read his location from his thoughts while he was sleeping.

He managed to tug a pair of pants from his pack and tiredly pull them on, not bothering with a shirt, then he curled into a ball and settled among the roots of a huge tree, where large amounts of leaf litter had accumulated to make the hard ground almost comfortable.

Safely hidden away from the world, Seth gently closed his tired eyes and relaxed just as the sun cleared the horizon. Within moments he was asleep, a single tear leaking unckecked from the corner of his eye.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Aro's plans for Seth extend further than we knew. However, with one member of the Volturi on his side, things may turn out better for Seth than expected.

ALEC POV

It was normal for Alec to be silent, well more silent than usual, in the aftermath of a fight with another coven. He generally felt guilty because his so-called 'gift' was used as a means to massacre people who were, more often than not, actually not guilty of committing the crimes of which they had been accused. It sickened him that his power, which had originally manifested because he was trying to escape pain, was now being used to remove other people's right to defend their own lives.

Fortunately, today Alec had no reason to feel guilty because, despite his best efforts, his power had not affected either the Cullen's, their 'witnesses' or the so-called werewolves, which led to the real reason for his silence after this particular encounter.

Alec had been informed by his sister, Demetri and Felix that the scent of the Quileute wolves was foul, an observation that was given further credence by the reactions of the other, less trained, Volturi members when the wolves had first entered the clearing to stand by the Cullens.

What really had Alec disturbed was the fact that the wolves' smell hadn't repulsed him in the slightest; in fact, he found the scent somewhat refreshing. To Alec most of the wolf-pack had smelled of the coast, wet sand and salty water. A smaller number, only two, had smelled of the forest surrounding the area of their meeting, of green moss and moist soil. It was as if the wolves didn't have a scent of their own, rather they absorbed the most pleasant scents from the areas in which they lived.

And then there was the wolf who had been interrogated by Aro...  _'Seth',_ Alec remembered.

Seth had come close enough to Alec that he could have reached out and touched him if he so chose, and while Alec had felt even Jane flinch back slightly at the wolfs supposed stench, Alec himself had almost felt drawn to the boy. He didn't smell repulsive in the slightest, nor did he smell of a particular landscape like the other wolves. Seth just smelled... _'Clean.'_

There was really no other word that Alec could think of to describe it. He didn't smell clean as in sterile, like bleach or disinfectant, more like the clean that you can smell after a big rain storm, when all of the dirt and grime has been washed away and the whole world suddenly feels brand new. It was a very refreshing scent, unlike that of any creature Alec had ever met, and it had appealed to him greatly.

The appeal of Seth's scent was the only plausible reason that Alec was willing to consider that would justify going against every single one of his orders to stop his sister from harming the young wolf with her burning gaze; he refused to consider any other possibility. After all, he'd only met the wolf for the first time today, so there was absolutely no way that he could care about the boy's well being already... It was completely impossible.

Alec was so caught up in his confusing thoughts that he almost failed to notice when Aro signalled the guard to halt. He managed to stop himself just in time to avoid any unnecessary attention from his sister or the Volturi leaders.

Unlike in human armies, it did not take several minutes for the Volturi guard to cease all noise and movement, so it was only a matter of seconds before Aro had the attention he desired, and he soon began to speak, a deadly glint sparkling deep in his red eyes.

"We have been humiliated," he began in a dangerously quiet tone, "Never before in the history of vampires have the Volturi been thwarted in such a manner. It is even more disgraceful that those who humiliated us are a coven of human-lovers and their pet  _dogs._ "

At the mention of the wolves, many of the vampires surrounding Alec hissed. Whether they were agreeing with Aro's opinion or simply remembering the disagreeing smell of the wolves Alec couldn't tell, and to Aro it didn't seem to matter.

"Do not fret my dears, for we will not allow this humiliation to go unchallenged!"

Alec began to feel a sickness deep in his stomach. One that, were he still alive, he was sure would make him want to vomit.

Aro continued, "I have read Edward Cullen's thoughts, and through them I have realised that the simplest way to hurt both the traitor-coven and their  _werewolves_ is through the abduction of the small wolf Seth Clearwater."

The guard had gone eerily silent, even for vampires and Alec felt the churning in his stomach increase, although he could not comprehend why.

"Until very recently, Seth Clearwater was the youngest member of the werewolf pack, and as such, many of the elder pack members see him as their little brother," said Aro.

"In addition to this, Seth was the first wolf to  _befriend_ the Cullen's and they also see him as a member of their  _family_ , even some of the Cullens vampire  _witnesses_ (the word was spat with disdain) have come to like the boy in the short time they have known him. Of everyone we fought today, Seth Clearwater is the only one of whom all of this is true, and therefore it is only logical that his removal will harm the largest number of the traitors."

The clearing was still silent, but out of the corner of his widened eyes Alec caught sight of a few of the guard nodding, and he caught sight of a violent, almost sadistic look in his sisters eyes that may possibly have scared him to death if it had been directed at him... And if he wasn't already an un-dead vampire.

After a pause for what Alec assumed was dramatic effect, Aro continued with his speech, the same dangerous glint shining in his eyes, "As your leaders, Caius, Marcus and I will choose one of you to assist us with this issue, whomever we believe is best able to complete this task quickly and efficiently; but first I have to ask, are there are any of you here who do not wish to be chosen for this task?"

Aro liked to give the illusion of offering them a choice, but no one had ever been brave, or stupid, enough to refuse a task set by their leader, so none of the guard raised even the slightest objection. After several long moments Aro nodded and smiled sadistically, "Very well, I commend each and every one of you for your bravery. We will now take a few moments to decide on who we are to send. Please feel free to talk among yourselves whilst we come to a decision."

Alec probably would have laughed at the patronising tone that Aro addressed them with if it weren't for the fact that he was feeling decidedly unwell, and for some odd reason that he could not fathom, Alec found himself hoping with all of his might that he would be the one chosen for this mission.

* * *

MARCUS POV (approximately five hours earlier)

Marcus was shocked; his head was still reeling from what he had seen occur between Alec and the werewolf Seth earlier in the day. Truthfully, in all his thousands of years as a vampire Marcus could not remember ever seeing a relationship bond so strong, and he had certainly never witnessed one form with such speed.

' _This imprinting of the werewolves' truly is a marvellous thing,'_ he thought to himself. Marcus almost felt sorry for everyone else in the world who, perhaps with the exception of Edward through his mind reading, would never have the privilege of beholding something so pure and beautiful.

Just thinking of the strength of Seth's imprint on Alec had Marcus remembering his own mate and the happiness and love she had brought into his life. However, remembering Didyme also unearthed the heart wrenching pain that had come with her death, and the knowledge that he would never again see her in this possibly infinite lifetime.

Having experienced the pain that the loss of a mate caused, Marcus knew firsthand exactly how Seth, and to a lesser extent Alec, who was as yet unaware of the imprinting, would be feeling now. Right then and there Marcus swore to himself that he would do everything in his power to reunite the two and give Seth the chance to win Alec's heart that he so desperately deserved.

 

* * *

 

MARCUS POV (present)

Marcus eventually realised that coming up with a genius plan was a lot harder than it seemed; however, it turned out that he needn't have worried because, with his power hungry speech of revenge and the plot to kidnap Seth, Aro had practically handed the necessary genius plan to Marcus on a shiny silver platter.

Now all Marcus had to do was convince Aro that Alec was the vampire best suited for the job. And he had to do it without giving anything away.

 

* * *

 

ALEC POV

Alec could hardly believe his ears. He had actually been chosen as the guard member who would 'retrieve' Seth from the Cullens and bring him to Volterra, an endeavour that he estimated would take at least three weeks, depending on how difficult it was to pry the wolf away from his protectors.

Alec still did not know exactly why the prospect of spending a long period of time alone with Seth appealed to him so much, and he wasn't prepared to question it. For some reason, he was the happiest he'd been in years and he did not want to spoil it for himself by over thinking everything. The last thing Alec wanted to do was to fall back into the state of apathy that he had felt crushing him for the past five centuries, until the sweet scent of rain washed the bland thoughts from his mind and brought him back to life.

Of course Jane had objected to the Volturi's decision under the pretence that Alec was needed at Volterra, though he knew that she was simply angry because she had wanted to be the one to go after Seth; she wanted to finish what she had started in the clearing. Luckily, with a few choice words from Aro, Jane grudgingly agreed that Alec's talent of being able to subdue people without hurting them was the best choice of weapon for bringing Seth back in an appropriate state of physical and mental health to be manipulated by the Volturi. He was also the only fighter with the ability to incapacitate both the Cullens and the wolves, which, in the event it became necessary, would enable him to take Seth and escape quickly with a minimal amount of fuss.

While he was being debriefed by Aro, Alec noticed Jane walk away  _'She's probably gone to sulk,'_ he thought to himself. He himself was barely listening to Aro's instructions on how to handle a possibly violent situation and about how he didn't want Alec to hurt Seth  _too much._

' _No problem there,'_ thought Alec, and that made him stop and think. There had to be something seriously wrong with him if he was promising himself that he wouldn't harm a boy that he had only met for the first time twelve hours ago, a boy who was centuries younger than him and oddly just happened to be a  _werewolf_ , the sworn enemy of Alec's very race, no matter how good he smelled.

It was then that Alec started to realise that going on this mission might not be the best idea after all. He was about to voice this to Aro when he suddenly remembered the look on his sister's face when she had realised that she would not be the one to go after the wolf boy. Frankly, it had been downright terrifying, and although Alec was incredibly confused about what he was suddenly feeling for the young werewolf, he knew that he could never willingly subject an innocent person to his sister's torturous stare, and so he resolved himself to go, despite his uncertainties.

He parted with the Volturi several hours later, after having listened to Aro ranting for what felt like a human lifetime. As he made to exit the ring of his coven though, he was stopped, shockingly enough, by Marcus who stared deep into his eyes and began to speak softly.

"Good luck with the werewolf Alec, I have every faith that you will succeed in discovering what it is that you seek."

Alec suspected that Marcus was not speaking solely of bringing Seth back to Volterra, and it unnerved him. He nodded his head in thanks and started to turn away, but was stopped once more by a firm but gentle hand on his arm, and he turned back to look at Marcus, who apparently hadn't said all that he wanted to.

"Alec, I just want you to promise me that, whatever you encounter in your travels, you will do your utmost best to keep an open mind and give anything a chance, even if it seems impossible."

If it had not been for the serious look in his eyes and that fact that he was pretty sure Marcus didn't have a sense of humour, Alec would have thought that he was simply trying to mess with his head; however, as Marcus' eyes bored into his own, Alec couldn't help but believe that this was incredibly important, so he did the only thing he could do and nodded to the Volturi leader, "I promise," he said softly.

With a small nod of acknowledgement Marcus finally released Alec's arm and patted him on the shoulder before whispering "Good luck," and turning away.

For several seconds Alec simply stood in wonderment and confusion, staring at Marcus' retreating back before shaking his head slightly and returning to reality. With a final look at the confusing older vampire, Alec turned and walked into the forest, hopeful that finding Seth would get him some of the answers he was looking for.

* * *

 

Alec had only been walking for about two hours, perhaps less. He didn't feel the need to rush himself and go sprinting into the trees, it wasn't as though there was a time limit on how quickly he had to find Seth and bring him back. Besides, Alec had always liked being on his own, especially among the trees, as there weren't many in Volterra, and there certainly weren't any forests.

Only a few minutes later Alec's peaceful thoughts were interrupted at the appearance of a new scent.

For most people, the smell of rain would not seem out of place in a forest, especially a forest in Forks, Washington; but Alec singled it out immediately, letting his senses become overrun by the fresh scent for the second time in as many days.

He was surprised to find Seth's scent so far from La Push, and he was further shocked when he realised that it was only fresh, no more than an hour old.

Listening to his instincts, Alec cautiously tracjed the scent through the trees until he could hear the accompanying breathing and heart beat. He warily entered a break in the foliage and instantly noticed the body curled on the leaf litter gathered amongst the roots of a large tree.

Although he remained wary, Alec deemed it safe to get closer, so he crept silently towards the sleeping boy until he reached a position where he could clearly see his face and have his suspicions confirmed.

The boy was Seth.

Alec was incredibly confused as to why the young werewolf was out sleeping in the middle of the forest when he knew full well that there were hostile vampires in the area, but he knew he wouldn't get any answers while Seth was sleeping, and looking at his peaceful yet somehow deeply sad expression, Alec didn't have the heart to wake the boy. Instead, he settled himself among the roots of a nearby tree and resigned himself to the wait.

 

* * *

 

SETH POV

Seth woke up slowly, sunlight filtering through his eyelids and creating an orange glow before he slowly opened his eyes, blinking a few times to get use to the bright light. Eventually, he managed to work up the will-power to actually sit up and stretch, and his joints popped loudly after having laid in such a cramped position all day.

It was only when he finally stood up that Seth registered the fact that he wasn't alone. He could sense eyes watching him, and he spun quickly to the right, preparing to phase and defend himself in necessary.

As he finished his turn Seth laid his eyes upon the person watching him and swore he almost passed out from the shock of seeing the absolute last person in the world he would have expected to be there: Alec.


	13. Chapter 13

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jacob discovers Seth's departure.

JACOB POV

Jacob woke up to glaring sunlight shining through his eyelids thanks to the completely unnecessary giant window in the Cullens' lounge room. He slowly opened his eyes, squinting at the bright light, and his first feeling was one of panic when he realised that the warm space in his arms that had been occupied by Nessie before he went to sleep was now cold and empty. Before he could lose control completely however, he felt a cool wave of calm wash over him and heard Jasper's gentle voice whispering from the other side of the room, "Don't worry Jacob, Renesme is perfectly safe. Edward and Bella took her back to the cottage with them last night, after you fell asleep."

Sighing in relief at the realisation that his imprint was safe at the moment, Jacob nodded thankfully to where he assumed Jasper was (since the sun was still messing with his sight) and felt the false calm from the vampire recede, only to be replaced with the real calm of his own thoughts.

His eyes finally adjusting to the light, Jacob deemed it safe enough to open them a little further, and stretched his arms towards the ceiling, feeling the satisfying pop as his joints clicked back into place. He continued to stretch as he stood, eyes half-lidded and shoulders slumped in fatigue and slight pain from sleeping upright all night. He managed to do all of this while ignoring the gleeful chuckling coming from Rosalie at his obvious discomfort.

Eventually Esme took pity on him and offered to make him a hot breakfast- with coffee. Jacob opened his eyes fully and grinned, "Have I ever told you how much I love you Esme?"

She gave a modest smile at the praise and disappeared quickly into the kitchen. Jacob got the feeling that if Esme had still been human she would have blushed.

After breakfast, which was delicious as usual and had helped complete the task of waking him up completely, Jacob decided that, since Nessie still wasn't awake, he would take the chance to go and visit his father on the Reservation. He hadn't seen him for a few days, and he knew that Billy would like to check for himself that Jacob was okay.

He told Carlisle of his plans and left on foot, deciding that the walk to the Rez would do him good. He'd been constantly surrounded by people since breaking off from the main pack and imprinting on Nessie, and it felt nice to finally be on his own for a while.

With his long legs it didn't take Jacob long to reach the end of the Cullens' extensive driveway, but when he did he stopped suddenly at the overpowering smell of another wolf in the air.

"Seth?" Jacob called out. When he didn't receive a reply he walked towards the trees where the scent was strongest.

"Seth?" he called again.

Jacob couldn't see Seth anywhere, but he did eventually discover a plastic bag hidden between the branches of one of the trees. He carefully opened the bag and found that it contained Seth's favourite red scarf along with three envelopes, one of which was addressed to him.

Jacob suddenly felt overwhelmed with anxiety for Seth and before he knew it he had ripped the envelope open and begun reading the letter within:

_Dear Jake,_

_I'm sorry I'm not telling you this face to face, but I knew that if I did you'd try and talk me out of my plan, and you'd probably succeed, too. Earlier today, in the clearing with the Cullen's, I imprinted on someone... A vampire someone... A male vampire someone. I know that you probably think this is disgusting and unnatural and that I must be seriously confused if I really think that I imprinted on a guy, but I know exactly what it is that I'm feeling, and it is definitely real (remember that I have felt this before through you and every other member of the Pack's that has already imprinted). The only person I actually told was Leah (though Edward knew of course), and she promised not to tell anyone, but last night (I'm going on the assumption that you won't find this until the morning) there was a meeting of the council and Mum knew all about absolutely everything. There was a vote and the result was that I am crazy, I have no idea what imprinting feels like and I have to return to Sam's pack immediately and promise to never interact with the Cullen' or Alec ever again .You know I can't do that Jake. I can't pretend that none of this ever happened- so I'm leaving. I am leaving to find Alec, and when I do I plan to stay with him- if that means giving myself up to the Volturi then I will do it gladly. I would really appreciate it if you didn't tell Sam's pack or the elders that I've left just yet; they think I'm saying my last goodbyes to the Cullen's before going back to the Rez. I'm sorry to ask these favours of you Jacob, and I want you to know that no matter what, you'll always be my brother. I love you man._

_Seth_

Jacob stood in stunned silence, staring at the letter for almost five minutes before jolting back into reality and sprinting back down the drive towards the Cullen's house, bag in one hand and opened letter in the other.


	14. Chapter 14

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Cullen's read their letter from Seth.

SETH POV

Seth couldn't believe it; he had to sit back down from the shock. It was mere  _hours_ after he had left, after he had left behind his pack, the Cullens' and his home, all in order to find his vampire imprint, and here Alec was, standing in front of him like it was the most natural thing in the world for him to be doing.

Seth sat completely still, with what he knew was a stupid expression on his face, but he couldn't bring himself to close his mouth, which had fallen open in shock the moment he set eyes on his imprint for the second time in as many days.

Alec didn't seem at all fazed by Seth's silence, simply staring at him impassively for a few minutes before stating in his clear, musical voice, "Seth Clearwater. I have received orders from the leaders of my coven to retrieve you and return with you to my home city of Volterra in Italy."

Seth closed his mouth with an audible click of teeth.  _'Well, I guess that explains why he's here, anyway,'_ he thought and couldn't help but feel disappointed that Alec had only come back at the insistence of Aro and the others.

His thoughts were interrupted when Alec spoke again, obviously mistaking Seth's silence for a refusal.

"Of course, you are free to refuse this offer," he said. "I am quite sure that, were you to transform into your wolf form right now and run from me, I would be unable to catch you." Alec paused for a moment, as if he was struggling with what he had to say next, but then his eyes hardened and he straightened his already ramrod-straight posture.

"I would, however advise against that particular action. If you were to run then I would be forced to follow," he said. "You are aware of my particular,  _talent_?" Alec waited for Seth to nod in agreement before continuing, "If you run back to the Cullen's and your pack, I  _will_ follow you and use whatever means necessary to remove you from their protection and transport you to Volterra by force. I  _must_ follow my orders."

Seth sensed a hint of despair in Alec's voice when he spoke of his orders and wondered on it for a moment, until it was pushed completely from his mind when Alec extended his pale, smooth hand towards Seth; "So," he said. "Which path will you choose?"

* * *

JACOB POV

The Cullens looked up in surprise as he burst through their front door, but Jacob didn't even notice when the door banged against the wall so hard that the plaster cracked, and two pictures and a large vase of flowers fell to the ground and smashed. He ran straight into the living room and stopped in front of Carlisle, who tried to speak, "Jacob, wha-"

Jacob cut Carlisle off before even two words had left his mouth, "Where is Edward? I need to speak to him right now!"

Carlisle looked as though he was about to argue, but he closed his mouth when Esme placed a small hand on his arm and looked at Jacob, "He's at the cottage Jacob. With Bella and Nessie."

Jacob barely heard the last half of what she said; he was already out the door and sprinting around the back.

Again, Jacob didn't bother to knock when he reached the door, instead shoving it open and running frantically through the house. He followed his nose and, resisting the urge to go to Nessie, heran straight through the closed door leading to Edward and Bella's room.

Bella and Edward were both standing in the middle of the room when Jacob burst through their door, obviously having heard him coming from a mile away.

When she realised that the intruder was Jacob and not a threat, Bella relaxed. Edward, however, grew more and more tense the further he read into Jacob's thoughts.

"He didn't? Please tell me that he didn't?" pleaded Jacob, looking at Edward with raw hope in his eyes and voice. "Please tell me this is all just some kind of elaborate practical joke and any second now he's going to come jumping out at us with that stupid grin on his face and tease me for falling for it."

Jacob felt the last of his hope come crashing down around him as Edward shook his head slowly and spoke in a voice so tortured that it reminded Jacob of the burning man Edward had been while Bella was pregnant with Nessie, "It's not a joke Jacob. I don't know what the pack said to him after he left here last night, but the imprint definitely happened. I didn't tell anyone because I thought it was something that he needed to tell you himself."

Jacob couldn't even bring himself to be mad at his once-enemy; he knew that he would have done exactly the same thing in his place, especially if it was for Seth.

Jacob and Edward were so preoccupied with their own thoughts that they had both completely forgotten that Bella was in the room. They had also failed to notice that the rest of the Cullens had appeared in the smashed-up doorway behind them, so both Edward and Jacob flinched when Bella interrupted their musings with, "Umm, sorry to interrupt guys, but what the hell is going on? Who's imprinted?"

"I think that all of us would like to know that," said Carlisle from his position in the doorway, and the rest of the vampires nodded in agreement, looking towards Jacob and Edward expectantly.

Edward didn't look as though he had the strength to open his mouth, so Jacob spoke, "Seth's gone," he said, almost choking on the words as he forced them past his lips; "I found a letter hidden in one of the trees along your driveway when I left this morning. Seth imprinted on one of the Volturi and the pack didn't take it very well, so he left. And he doesn't plan on coming back."

The vampires stood in stunned silence, neither moving nor making a sound until Alice spoke up, "Are you absolutely sure?" she asked quietly.

Normally Jacob would have been angry at being questioned about something so serious, but he understood Alice's need for proof, so, moving in a daze, he nodded and reached into the bag that was still clutched tightly in his fist and withdrew a second envelope.

"Here," he said, passing the letter to Alice, "There's one for you guys too."

Alice hesitated to open the letter, simply staring at the tidy inscription written on the front in Seth's handwriting which simply said  _Cullen Family._

Jacob saw Alice look over to her mate with an almost pleading expression on her face. Jasper nodded slightly and suddenly a wave of calm swept through the room, causing everyone to relax their stance.

Alice shot Jasper a grateful smile, which he returned, before opening the letter and reading out loud:

" _Dear Carlisle, Esme, Emmett, Rose, Jasper, Alice, Edward, Bella, Jake (I know you're listening bro) and Nessie,_

_I will assume that Jacob found his letter first and has told you guys that I am leaving- that I have already left. I'm so sorry to have to say goodbye via letter. You guys deserve so much better than this, but like I said to Jake, I know that if I see any one of you again I will keep on finding reasons to put this off until I (or one of you) convince myself not to go at all, and that is not what I want. I want to go after my imprint, more than anything I have ever wanted before. It makes me feel horrible that in order to find Alec I have to leave all of you behind when you have been so nice to me, but being practically rejected for who I am by the ones supposed to love me the most has given me the strength to make the first selfish decision of my life. I can't stand the thought that there's a chance, no matter how slim, of seeing the same look of revulsion and unacceptance in your eyes that I have seen already in the eyes of my mother- it would kill me.  
Please respect my wishes and do not follow me. I really, really want to do this, and I believe that, to succeed, I have to do it on my own. You need to know that I love you all so very much. I consider you to be my second family and I love and value you just as much as I do my blood relatives. Again, I am so, so sorry to have to leave you guys, especially you Nessie, it pains me more than you will ever know that I will not be there to see you grow up. I suppose that if one good thing can come to this family by me leaving for the Volturi it is that, for the next few decades at least, Aro will be too busy studying me to try and annihilate and/or collect any of you, which makes me incredibly happy._

_I want to thank you guys for accepting me into your family so long ago; it has meant more to me during the events of tonight than you will ever know, and whether or not I ever see you again, I want every single one of you to know that I will always consider you to be my family._

_Love always,_

_Seth."_

When Alice finished reading Seth's letter the room was silent for what felt to Jacob like hours, then suddenly and without warning, Alice dropped to her knees and sobbed. Despite, or perhaps because of, the fact that she could not actually produce tears, Alice's crying was the most heart-wrenching thing that Jacob had ever witnessed, and he felt hot tears running swiftly down his own cheeks in response to her despair.


	15. Chapter 15

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth makes his decision about following Alec and Jacob 'speaks' to the pack about Seth leaving.

JACOB POV

After Jasper had successfully calmed Alice down, he didn't even have to use his powers, which surprised Jacob immensely, everyone relocated back to the Cullen's house. Somehow it actually made Jacob feel closer to Seth, being in the room where he'd last laid eyes on his brother.

There was no awkward silence this time, as soon as everyone was seated in the living room Emmett spoke, "He imprinted on Alec? As in the Alec of Jane and Alec, evil witch twins of the Volturi? That Alec?"

His question was directed at Edward, who nodded, "Yes, that Alec. I felt it the moment the imprint happened."

"So did I," interrupted Jasper. "Although I didn't know what it was at the time, I felt an almost heartbreaking sadness from Seth when the Volturi did leave, but he wouldn't tell me what was causing it."

"How is this even possible?" asked Bella, who was sitting on the couch with little Nessie on her lap. "I thought that imprinting only occurred between people of the opposite sex to make stronger wolves? It doesn't make sense that Seth would have imprinted on a boy. And Alec is a vampire, so even if he was female there's no way that he and Seth could actually have a child together."

Everyone fell silent thinking about her question and Jacob had to admit that that was the one thing that had been troubling him the most.

' _Bella's right,'_ he thought.  _'Even if by some weird-ass miracle Alec turned out to be a girl, he's still a vampire so there is absolutely no way he and Seth could have a kid, which means that either Seth didn't actually imprint, or everything we think we know about imprinting is wrong.'_

With the first-hand evidence given by Seth and then Edward, Jacob was starting to think that the latter option was more likely; however, he was finding it hard to believe that something that had been taught to the Quileute wolves for generations was completely wrong, that hundreds of people had been living their lives by false information.

His frantic thoughts were interrupted by Carlisle, who said, "Technically we know very little about how and why the Quileute wolves' imprint. The theory that it occurs in order to produce a stronger generation of wolves is simply that, a theory. There is no evidence in effect to back up the assumption; it is simply the most plausible explanation for something that would otherwise seem completely random. Or it was the most plausible explanation until yesterday that is."

"Well, as far as I know Seth has never once lied to us, Maggie's testimony in the clearing yesterday pretty much proves  _that_  beyond a doubt, and I doubt that he has ever lied to any of the tribe either. In fact, I'm almost positive that boy is incapable of telling even the smallest fib to anyone," said Emmett, with everyone else in the room nodding in agreement.

"So we know for sure that this wasn't brought on by one of the Volturi's freak powers and that Seth isn't lying. Do you think that it's safe to assume that the pack knew this too?" he asked, again with everyone nodding.

"Well then, why the hell did they basically kick him out?!" yelled Emmett angrily. "If it wasn't some diabolical plan of the Volturi's, and since Seth obviously didn't imprint on Alec on purpose, then what right do the council think they have trying to make him stay away from Alec forever?" Emmett was so overcome with rage that he forgot his own strength and punched the chair arm so hard that it almost crumbled to dust.

Jacob noticed that everyone else in the room seemed to agree completely with Emmett. Some, like Carlisle and Jasper, were very good at hiding it, with only a slight tightening around their eyes giving away the extent of their anger, while others, like Rosalie and Bella, weren't even trying to hide it, glaring and nodding their heads furiously in agreement with Emmett. Alice was so angry that she was almost quivering with pent-up rage, and for the first time in almost a year, Jacob himself was so mad that he felt as though he was in danger of phasing right there in the living room.

"We don't know how they're feeling themselves," said Esme rationally. "Remember, they didn't know that what they were making him do would cause Seth to run away."

"Well maybe they should have thought of that before condemning the nicest person anyone has ever met for something that isn't his fault," snapped Rosalie in return.

"I agree with Rose," said Jasper, much to the surprise of everyone.

The fact that even Jasper thought the Quileute's had made a very harsh and wrong decision helped Jacob make up his mind, and he stood from his chair so abruptly that it tipped backwards onto the floor.

"Where are you going?" Asked Emmett as Jacob began walking towards the door.

"I think it's about time I went and paid my dear tribe a visit, don't you?" asked Jacob, his tone dangerous. "I would offer to take you all with me, but with the current clearly insane mind-set of the council I believe that having a group of angry vampires with me would do more harm than good.

Although it obviously pained him, Emmett's head actually won out over his heart and he nodded in agreement, seeing the logic of Jacob's argument, and everyone else followed his lead.

* * *

Although he wanted to get to La Push as fast as possible, Jacob didn't want to go through the hassle of phasing so he 'borrowed' Edward's car, sure that the vampire would know what he planned to do and that he would have said something if he had a problem with it.

As Jacob drove recklessly down the Cullen's extensive driveway he pulled out his phone and speed-dialled his father. Billy picked up after two rings, but before he could say so much as a 'hello', Jacob snapped at him, "Council meeting at our house. NOW!"

Again, before Billy could get even one word in, Jacob hung up the phone and concentrated all of his effort on getting to the Rez at break-neck speed-without crashing the car and actually breaking his neck.

Judging by the amount of cars in the drive when he pulled up, Jacob was the last of the pack/council to arrive at the Black house, despite his reckless driving.

' _Good,'_ he thought.  _'I doubt I would have been able to hold this in long enough to wait for anyone else to get here.'_

Jacob exited the car, slamming the door viciously, and stormed up the path. He flung the front door open so hard that he barely had time to cross the threshold before it was rebounding off the wall and slamming shut loudly behind him.

Jacob stomped loudly down the narrow hallway and all but flung himself into the lounge room, glaring at the occupants seated on the rooms various surfaces.

The looks in the tribe's eyes varied from worry to shock at his loud and abrupt entrance. As usual, Billy was the first to speak, "What is wrong son?" he asked. "The way you were on the phone it sounded as though you were in some kind of trouble."

Jacob turned the full force of his glare on his wheelchair-bound father, who flinched.

"What did you do to Seth?" Jacob asked, actually surprised at how dangerously calm his voice sounded.

"What are you talking about Jacob? We didn't do anything to him," said Sue, who was sitting next to Billy.

"Oh? You didn't do anything? Nothing at all?" Jacob asked her, barely keeping his rage in check.

"So you  _didn't_  out him to the entire pack and council then?" he demanded. "You didn't completely ignore what he was thinking and feeling? You didn't threaten to disown him if he tried to follow Alec? You didn't make your sixteen year-old son _choose_ between his family and his  _imprint?_ "

By now the calm in Jacob's voice had disappeared to be replaced with cold, hard fury. His rage was making him physically shake as he surveyed the room, looking at the equally upset and guilty occupants who he had once considered to be his family,  _Seth's_ family.

Sue was the first to regain her calm, "You're being unreasonable Jacob," she said. "Seth didn't imprint on the leech, it was clearly some kind of blood-sucker mind-trick. I am simply doing what I have to to protect my son."

"You are so dim," he hissed scathingly. "Do you really think that the effects of imprinting can be duplicated? There is no way that any of the Volturi could reproduce that feeling and even if one of them could, it wouldn't be Alec. His  _mind trick,_ as you call it is to cut off feelings and emotions, not create them! Besides, it would be a trick of the mind and Seth was behind Bella's shield the entire time, there's no way anyone could have gotten to him!"

Sue looked shocked at this revelation, "But-".

She tried to say something else, but Jacob cut her off, "No, there are no buts. Jasper can sense feelings, Alice can see the future, Edward can  _read minds_ for god's sake, and all of them love Seth like their own family. Don't you think that if something unnatural had occurred they would have told us, or at the very least Seth?"

The entire room had been stunned to silence, and he knew that those who hadn't been considering it before now found themselves thinking that maybe, just maybe Seth's idea on imprinting hadn't been as far off the mark as they'd thought.

Billy spoke to Jacob for the first time since his outburst began, "Look son, all of this is very far-fetched, and while you do put up some good arguments surely you can understand why we are wary to believe all of this... Speculation?"

He looked at Jacob, who simply stared blankly back at him, and continued, "Why don't you give Seth a call? He can come home and we can all discuss this rationally."

Jacob's shoulders slumped in despair, "I can't." 

"Whyever not? He should be back by now anyway," said Sue. "The only reason he left in the first place was to say goodbye to your vampire friends."

Jacob felt the last of his anger dissipate and tears began building in his eyes again.

"Seth's gone," he said, voice breaking as he looked at the floor.

"What do you mean he's gone?" asked Leah in a small voice, speaking for the first time since Jacob had entered the room.

"I mean exactly that, he's gone," sighed Jacob. "He thought that none of you would ever love or accept him after he imprinted on a vampire, and he would never be able to choose anyone over Alec anyway, no matter the circumstances, so he left to go find him- and he doesn't plan on coming back."

There was a stunned silence in the room, even Sue was at a loss for anything to say, then Leah started crying. Her outburst of loud sobs sent everyone into an even deeper state of shock, including Jacob. Leah never cried, she had always been considered too heartless for something as emotional as crying.

"This is m-y fault!" she sobbed, "I n-ever should have t-t-old, I sh-sh-ould have known something like this would hap-pen!"

"This isn't your fault Leah," said Sam quietly. "How were we to know that Seth would do something like this? We were just trying to help."

There was a very loud and very sarcastic snort of laughter at Sam's comment, and Jacob was shocked to see that it had come from Paul.

"You're kidding right?" he exclaimed, "You weren't trying to help Seth, you were trying to make him like all of you! The kid isn't stupid; thanks to us he knows exactly what imprinting feels like. If you really wanted to help Seth you would have believed him and supported him instead of giving him a choice that he  _never_ should have had to make."

"I don't want to hear anything else from any of you,  _brothers,_ " Paul continued when it looked as though Embry and Jared were going to protest the insult of their Alpha.

"I for one am going to look for Seth and give him the support that he really needs before it's too late," he said and began walking for the door.

"I'm coming too," said Quil, confidently following Paul out of the room.

Jacob paused to give the rest of the pack one last glare, "If any of you have the  _guts_ to realise that you were wrong and help us find Seth then you had better follow us soon, or you might find that our little brother isn't as forgiving as you once thought."

He scanned the room one final time, gaze pausing momentarily on Leah's tear-stricken face, before he left the house at a run and made for the woods in his back yard.

As soon as he passed the line of the trees Jacob phased, not even bothering to take his clothes off, and was shocked to instantly hear Quil and Paul's minds connect with his.

' _What did you do?'_  he asked,  _'You guys are in Sam's pack, I shouldn't be able to hear you!'_

' _Well,'_ thought Quil,  _'We decided that we didn't want to be part of a pack where we are constantly going to be afraid of being kicked out. What if they decide to reject my imprint on Claire because she's too young? No matter how much it hurt, I would never be able to pick the pack over her, but I don't ever want to be forced to make that choice- and I know I won't have to with you.'_

' _Besides Jake,'_ Quil continued with a mental-smile,  _'You're my best mate, I've actually been considering this for a while.'_

Jake laughed at his friend's reasoning as they ran to where he had found Seth's letters.

' _What about you Paul?'_ he asked, genuinely curious for the answer he would receive from the older wolf.

' _Same reasons as Quill,'_ Paul answered, with a mental-shrug.  _'Except for the part where you're my friend.'_

Jacob let out a mental belly laugh. Running with Quill and Paul reminded him of running patrols with Leah and Seth back at the Cullens' house.

Thinking about Seth put an instant damper on the mood, and the rest of the run was spent in silence until suddenly and shockingly Jacob felt another mind join theirs.

' _Leah?'_ he asked, confused.

' _What?'_ she thought back,  _'You didn't seriously think that I'd bail on my little brother did you? Seth may be a pain in the ass most of the time, but contrary to popular belief I do actually love him, and so do the others, they're with me now.'_

Now that she'd mentioned it, Jacob could hear what remained of Sam's pack catching up with them, and he was secretly happy that they had accepted Seth, the kid definitely deserved it. This thought was met with vehement agreement from the rest of his (now significantly larger) pack, although most of their energy was focused on following Seth's scent.

Leah caught up with them just after they passed the tree where Jacob had found Seth's letters- everyone gave a mental wince as the memories of reading them came to surface in Jacob's mind- and Sam, Jared and Embry caught up not long after that.

They ran for what felt like hours, and Jacob was right on the verge of giving up and taking a rest when suddenly Leah, whose superior speed had put her at the front of the pack, yelled back to them with her mind,  _'His scent just got a lot stronger guys! I think me might be up ahead, just under that huge tree.'_

At this news everyone got incredibly excited. Jacob forced himself to put on a final burst of speed and he reached the tree in record time.

He slowed down to a trot when he reached the tree, and stiffed among the large roots where Seth's scent was the strongest.

' _I don't understand,'_ he thought.  _'I can smell him, but I can't see or hear him.'_

He was still pondering this question when his senses were suddenly overwhelmed by a horrible scent that burned his nose. It was only after a second that he realised he was smelling it through Leah, who was panicking.

' _Oh no. No, no, no, no, NO!' s_ he screamed, taking off into the trees.

Recognising the scent for himself, Jacob followed Leah as quickly as he could. Worry gnawed at his mind as Seth's scent became fainter and fainter, gradually disappearing into the smell of vampire.

Finally, Jacob and other wolves caught up to Leah at a small river in the forest. A very wet Leah was running up and down the opposite bank frantically. Her nose was pressed to the ground, desperately trying to find any sign of either her brother or the mysterious vampire he had disappeared with.

Eventually Leah stopped running. Her shoulders slumped in defeat and for a moment Jacob was worried that she would collapse, but instead she let out the most heart-wrenching howl Jacob had ever heard.

Jacob was suddenly assaulted with emotions of crushing grief from all sides as the packs realised that Seth's scent was gone. Their grief, coupled with his own, was too much for Jacob to bear and he let out a heartbroken howl of his own. Pouring his whole heart into that one grief-stricken noise, Jacob let out everything he was feeling; the sadness that this had happened to Seth of all people, the anger that he felt at the others for pushing him away, the knowledge that Seth could at this very moment be in the company of a dangerous vampire, and most of all, the gut-wrenching fear that he would never see his little brother again.

It was as though all of the light had been sucked out of his life with that one realisation, and suddenly Jacob remembered his words from earlier and howled all the harder for realising that they had been true.

' _Seth's gone. And he doesn't plan on coming back.'_

* * *

_A couple of hours earlier..._

SETH POV

Seth looked up at Alec's offered hand and hesitated.

' _Is this really what I want?'_ he thought,  _'Am I actually willing to give up everything I've ever had for the slight chance that Alec might one day decide that he feels the same way I do?'_

Seth thought back to the council meeting the day before, the look in his mother's eyes while she was talking about his imprint, the disgust in the eyes of the pack when they heard what had happened, and he almost reached out to grasp Alec's hand in return, but then he thought back even further.

He remembered all of the times that his mother and sister had been there for him. He remembered the feeling of being in a pack, where everyone knew exactly what you were thinking and feeling and accepted you regardless.

Seth remembered all of the time he had spent with the Cullens, and how they had invited him into their home and accepted him despite the fact that he was a werewolf and they were vampires. Seth remembered all of the times where he had felt like part of a  _family._

' _Is he worth it?'_ he wondered.

Seth looked into the eyes of the vampire in front of him. They were the eyes of a killer, someone who would not hesitate to tear him apart if he was ordered to, someone who had contributed to the deaths of hundreds, probably thousands, of innocent people.

Seth looked into Alec's eyes and realised that he knew exactly what his answer was.

He reached out and grasped Alec's slightly cooler hand in his own, allowing himself to be pulled to his feet. The thrill Seth felt at the skin-to-skin contact with his imprint simply re-enforced his decision, and as he followed Alec into the woods Seth asked himself one last time,  _'Is he worth it?'_

' _Yes.'_

* * *

LEAH POV

Leah lay on her bed curled into a tight ball, looking at the envelope in her hand with eyes that were red and puffy from crying.

Jacob had given her the letter just before he had left for the Cullen's, saying that he couldn't stand to be in the house with his father, or any of the pack excluding Paul and Quill, for any period of time at the moment, but he had given her the letter despite what he thought of her.

"Because Seth wanted me to",he had insisted before leaving.

Leah had been laying on her bed for hours, just staring at the letter and trying to work up the courage to open it and read her little brother's goodbye.

She felt the tears beginning to well up in her eyes again and quickly ripped the envelope open before they could fall.

_Dearest Leah,_

_I understand why you did what you did. I know you thought it was the right thing to do, and I want you to know that I don't blame you in the slightest for doing it either. I am sorry that I ever put you in the position where you felt you had to choose between me and Mom, and I respect that you had the courage to do what I could not._

_Leah, you are my sister. I love you so very much and nothing you do, no matter how bad, is ever going to change that for me. I'm sorry that I had to leave and I'm sorry that I didn't say goodbye, but, like you, I was faced with an impossible decision and I made the choice that I thought was best._

_I want you to know that I think this is what I need- what will make me happy, and the only thing that I am going to regret is leaving everyone behind. I'm sorry that you're going to have to face life alone for a while now, but I_ know  _that there is someone out there for you too Leah, and even though I'm not there I want you to promise me that you won't give up hope. After all, if I can imprint on a guy vampire then anything's possible right?_

_Please pass on my love to Mom and tell her that I do not blame her for this either, I know you were both just trying to look out for me._

_I love you both so, so much and I will miss you more than you will ever know._

_Your annoying little brother,_

_Seth xoxo_

Leah stared at the letter for a good minute before clutching it tightly to her chest and collapsing back on her bed, crying harder than she ever had in her life.

"I am so sorry," she whispered as though her brother was in the room with her. "I'm so sorry that I made you choose Seth."

Leah cried herself to sleep that night, and when she woke up she found her mother in a similar state sleeping next to her. Leah went back to sleep hoping that the next time she woke up she would feel better, that her mother would be in her own bed just like she usually was and that Seth would be home safe and sound.

Leah hoped that she when next she woke up everything would be right in the world again, but it wasn't. Her Mom was still puffy-eyed and sleeping next to her and her baby brother, the centre of her entire universe, was still  _gone_.

' _I'm sorry.'_


	16. Chapter 16

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec struggles to understand the enigma that is Seth.

SETH POV

Okay, Seth is naturally a very sociable person, so once the awe of being alone with his imprint had worn off he was left feeling pretty bored. He and Alec had been walking through the woods for going on an hour now and in that time neither of them had uttered so much as a single word. There was only so much that Seth could find interesting about trees for God's sake!

Seth had spent a majority of the trek trying to sneak glances at his imprint without him noticing, and although Alec had not yet said anything- or even looked directly at Seth for that matter- Seth always got the feeling that the vampire knew when he was looking.

His feeling of restlessness growing, Seth sighed heavily, trying to push everything he was feeling into that one simple expulsion of air.

Seth did a very energetic happy dance in his head- complete with high-kicks and fist pumps- when his sigh made Alec glance up and meet his eyes with a questioning glance.

Relishing the chance to finally break the awkward silence Seth asked something that he had been wondering ever since he had woken up and seen Alec standing above him.

"Why do the Volturi want me?" he asked.

Alec stared at him blankly for several moments, and Seth was about to give up and go back to counting trees when; "I am not at liberty to disclose that kind of information with you. If you were to somehow escape my custody this information could hinder the plans of my coven."

Seth was so consumed by the beauty of his imprint's voice that he couldn't even muster up any disappointment at the uninformative answer. He did not, however, want that voice to disappear for another hour, so he continued the conversation, "Alec, I swear that I am not going to even  _attempt_  to escape you."

Seth could just see the scepticism in Alec's ruby eyes so he kept trying, "Besides, even if I was suddenly overcome with the urge to run away- which I won't be- you would be able to catch me in about five seconds flat, and then I would be spending the rest of this trip with my senses cut off, which I want to happen about as much as I want to run away."

Alec continued to look sceptical, but Seth's sincerity must have convinced him (either that or he was just as desperate for conversation as Seth was), because he nodded slightly at Seth before looking back at their path and speaking,

"Aro saw fit to acquire himself a Quileute shape shifter, I assume to add to his collection of talented individuals. You were chosen because you have emotional connections to more members of your pack and of the vampire race than any other shape shifter that Aro witnessed in Edward's mind. I was chosen to retrieve you because my particular  _talent_ was considered to be the most efficient way to extract you from your protectors with minimal fuss. As we both know this was rendered unnecessary because you were not in the presence of either your pack or the Cullen coven when I came upon you."

' _Okay, that's a lot to process,'_ Seth paused, but then he came up with another question.

"Why did Aro choose me for you to take if I supposedly have more emotional connections in the supernatural world than any of the other wolves? Surely it would have been better to take someone less popular so that there would be fewer people trying to rescue them?" he asked.

"Not that I would want anyone to trade places with me," he was quick to add.

"As one of the leaders of the Volturi coven, Aro does not see fit to share his every plan with me, nor would I expect him to," replied Alec in a complete monotone.

"I see," said Seth. "Surely you must have some idea though?" He asked, curiosity getting the better of him, as it often did.

Alec stared at Seth for a long time, as though trying to solve a particularly difficult puzzle. Eventually he spoke, "In almost two thousand years of life I have never met someone who asks quite so many questions, supernatural or otherwise."

The words were delivered in the same emotionless tone that Alec always seemed to speak in; however, Seth swore that he could detect a hint of amusement in the depths of the vampire's ruby eyes, though that could just have been a trick of the light.

"Is that supposed to be a compliment?" he asked, recognising the change of subject for what it was, and knowing that Alec wasn't going to answer any more questions about his coven for the moment.

Alec studied him again and Seth felt himself getting lost in the intense gaze of his imprint before he spoke, "You may choose to interpret it in any way you wish."

Seth pondered that comment for all of three seconds before grinning hugely.

"Well in that case I'll take it as a compliment."

Alec's eyebrow gave a tiny twitch and his pace faltered so slightly that it was almost unnoticeable, but Seth had been hoping for a reaction and he saw it right away, and his grin grew even larger at getting an actual, physical reaction out of the stoic boy.

As though he had never paused, Alec respectfully inclined his head in Seth's direction and murmured, "As you wish."

Not wanting to push Alec too far, Seth left the conversation there, choosing instead to ponder the small pieces of Alec's personality that he had gleaned from their (admittedly short) discussion as they continued to trudge through the forest.

They walked for another two hours, the silence only occasionally being permeated by Seth's questions and attempts to start a conversation- all of which were skilfully deflected by Alec, who Seth was beginning to think just didn't like talking.

' _Either that or he's just not used to it.'_

For some reason, this thought made Seth incredibly sad and he didn't say anything else for a long time.

Sometime just before noon (judging by the sun's position, which he could read thank you very much), Seth's stomach began to rumble but, not wanting to disrupt Alec, he didn't mention it.

Suddenly, "Are you hungry?" Alec asked with his voice as apathetic as usual.

' _Damn,'_ he thought.  _'I forgot about super vamp-hearing.'_

"Yeah, a little bit," is what he actually said out loud, unable to lie to Alec, but at the same time not wanting to be an inconvenience to his imprint.

"You may hunt in your wolf form if you so wish," offered Alec. "I will easily be able to keep pace with you."

As tempted as he was to take Alec up on his offer, Seth knew that he couldn't run the risk of phasing; so he told the truth, "I can't. As soon as I phase, any member of my pack who's in their wolf form will be able to hear my thoughts, they'll know exactly where I am."

Alec stopped short and looked at Seth with the closest thing to emotion that he had ever seen on the boy's face, although Seth couldn't pin-point exactly what emotion he was expressing.

"Why are you telling me this?" Alec asked quietly.

Seth felt a sudden urge to tell Alec everything, about the imprint, his family's reaction, everything, but he couldn't. He didn't want to run the risk of scaring Alec off or pushing him away, he'd made too much progress already and he knew that he couldn't handle being separated from his imprint now; but he also couldn't lie.

Settling on a half-truth and hoping that it would suffice for both him and Alec, he spoke, "You trusted me. You offered to let me change into a form in which I could pose a threat to you if I moved fast enough. I couldn't break that trust, it just wouldn't be right."

Seth shifted from foot to foot awkwardly as Alec continued to stare at him silently, his facial expressions shifting too fast for Seth to follow before settling on something that looked a little like awe.

"You gave up the chance to possibly be rescued because you did not want to break the trust of the vampire who kidnapped you in the first place?" he asked.

"Aw, come on Alec, you were ordered to kidnap me! I don't expect that you would have come at all if Aro hadn't asked you to, and I know how it feels to want to please your family," said Seth, his stomach clenching painfully as he remembered the people he had left behind to follow his imprint.

"You speak the truth," said Alec in a tone that resembled wonder. Seth assumed that Alec hadn't meant that as a question and waited to see if he would continue.

Alec hesitated for a moment, seeming to fight an internal battle before looking right into Seth's eyes and asking, "If I leave you alone for a short period of time do you promise to stay in this location during my absence?"

Seth furrowed his eyebrows in confusion at Alec's request, but he nodded in agreement none the less. He wasn't too concerned that Alec would go against his coven's orders and leave him stranded here in the woods after all.

Alec stared at him for a while longer, but before Seth's heart could actually beat out of his chest from the emotions that Alec's intense gaze was evoking in him, Alec had disappeared at a speed that only vampires and shape-shifters could truly accomplish.

Eventually overcoming his confusion at Alec's weird behaviour and sudden vanishing-act, Seth decided not to give himself a headache thinking about it too hard, and sat down at the base of one of the many trees surrounding him.

Seth had never coped particularly well with boredom, and between the whole almost-battle with the Volturi, running away from home, and being semi-kidnapped by his imprint, he hadn't really had the chance to catch up on all that much sleep; so it wasn't surprising when, after only a few minutes of waiting for Alec, Seth was slumped gently against the tree, his soft snores echoing through the forest surrounding him.

* * *

ALEC POV

Alec wandered through the woods, taking his time to think things over because, if the fatigued look in Seth's eyes when Alec had left him was real, then it was likely that he would be too busy sleeping to notice if Alec was absent for an extended period of time.

' _And if the fatigue was fake Alec, what then?'_ he asked himself.  _'What if Seth has just been lying to you this entire time and all he's been waiting for is for you to leave him alone, just like you have now, so he could make his escape.'_

These thoughts had been running through Alec's mind ever since he had left Seth to find the hungry werewolf something to eat. He did not understand why he had done something so reckless for a person who was supposed to be his sworn enemy and captive, but Alec still couldn't force himself to go back and check on Seth without catching the hungry boy something to eat first.

Usually it would not have taken Alec so long to hunt for a mere animal, but he had been so distracted by the strange things that Seth was making him feel that he couldn't concentrate long enough to actually pinpoint any creature's heartbeat.

Alec could feel himself getting more worked up the longer he thought about Seth, and he had actually turned around to make his way back to him, when suddenly he was overwhelmed with memories of the wolf-boy from the last three days:

' _I see them as people who have made the best possible choices to survive with the life that they were given...'_

' _I do not hate vampires...'_

' _I couldn't break that trust...'_

' _I know how it feels...'_

These memories stopped Alec in his tracks, and he was overwhelmed with a warmth that he now realised he had never felt before meeting Seth. Suddenly, Alec realised that his dawdling was doing neither him nor Seth any favours, simply making him more anxious and, assuming he was even awake and where Alec had left him, Seth more hungry.

Within minutes Alec had caught two rabbits and was speedily making his way back, to once and for all see if Seth had been telling the truth.

Alec heard Seth before he saw him, and the boy's soft snores echoing through the trees caused Alec to grin with true happiness for the first time in almost a decade. He passed the last few trees with haste and finally came upon Seth slumped peacefully at the base of a tall fir tree.

Alec felt his smile dim until it was only the gentlest curve of his mouth as he looked upon the sleeping boy. Then, as quietly as he could, he sat on the ground not too far from Seth and settled down to watch him sleep, smile still in place.

* * *

SETH POV

Seth woke from his nap to see Alec sitting nearby- yet again seeming to have been watching him sleep.

Seth straightened up slowly, yawning and rubbing his eyes slowly before asking Alec, "Where did you go before?"

Alec seemed to shake himself out of some kind of daze before reaching behind himself and holding up two dead rabbits by their ears.

Seth was at a loss for words, simply staring at Alec with his mouth gaping open stupidly.

Alec looked slightly uncomfortable with Seth's staring and he shifted slightly where he sat before speaking, "You cannot hunt in your human form without a weapon of some kind, and from what you have revealed to me, hunting in your wolf form is out of the question. I do not wish for you to starve to death before we reach Volterra, and so I took it upon myself to obtain food for you. I assume that you are not adverse to eating rabbit?"

Seth continued to stare at Alec in complete shock. His heart was beating loudly and his stomach was twisting tightly, but he had never felt better in his entire life.

Not fully believing that he hadn't just imagined this entire conversation, and that any second he would wake up and the perfect boy sitting in front of him would be gone, Seth discretely pinched his own arm. When nothing changed, he sought clarification from Alec.

"You caught those rabbits  _for_   _me_?" he asked quietly.

"If they are not to your tastes I will dispose of them," Alec said quickly, making to stand up.

"No!" he yelled, reaching his arms out frantically.

Seth hesitated when his yell clearly startled the vampire, but he couldn't let Alec leave, so he forced his mouth to stammer out some semblance of English words, "I-I just... You-..  _Why?_ "

' _Yep, Seth- that was really smooth,'_ he chided himself.  _'You couldn't have just said thank you and been done with it could you? You've just got to make yourself look like a complete idiot...'_

If the slightly confused expression on Alec's face was anything to go by, his thoughts were travelling along a very similar path to Seth's.

Seth braced himself for a scathing insult of some kind, or worse- that Alec would continue on his way and leave without saying anything at all. Suffice to say, when Alec did speak, Seth was pleasantly surprised.

"You understand," he said. "You understand that just because a person does not display their emotions openly it does not mean that they do not still  _feel._ "

Here Alec lifted the rabbits still held in his hand and said, " _This_ is my way of expressing my gratitude to you for being the first in my extensive lifetime to treat me like a true person. This is my way of thanking you Seth."

Seth's heart stuttered in his chest. He had never heard Alec say so many words in one go, nor had he heard Alec speak with anything that so closely resembled emotion before. Couple this with the fact that his imprint had just said his name for the first time since coming to 'retrieve' him for the Volturi, and Seth was feeling pretty damn awesome- the way that his name had sounded rolling off of Alec's tongue had him actually stop breathing in shock.

When Seth finally rediscovered the ability to speak he was dangerously close to crying.

"You are so very welcome Alec," he eventually choked out. "But I treat you like a person because, vampire or not, that's what you  _are._ "

Not wanting to hear his imprint argue against what Seth believed with every fibre of his being to be the truth, he walked over to Alec and gently took the rabbits from him, being very careful not to let their hands brush, because he didn't think that he could handle skin to skin contact with his Alec when he was already feeling so overwhelmed.

" _Thank you_ Alec," he whispered before leaving the vampire alone to think while Seth himself attempted to light a fire for the rabbits.


	17. Chapter 17

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Travelling is taking longer than expected, and Alec needs to hunt...

SETH POV

They had been travelling through the forest for almost a week now, thanks to Seth's only-slightly-faster-than-a-human pace and his constant need for food and sleep.

During this time, he and Alec had fallen into a routine of sorts. Seth would wake up and do his best to cook whatever Alec caught for him while he was asleep, and when he had finished eating they continued on their way to Volterra. While walking, Seth would ask Alec questions about himself and his coven, which Alec would carefully sidestep and/or ignore, then they stopped for Seth's lunch and the process repeated until the sun went down and Alec found Seth a suitable place to sleep.

It was all very repetitive and some people might even have found it monotonous. Seth himself would readily admit that he wasn't used to spending so much time alone with someone in silence; however, the quiet between him and Alec was anything but awkward. In fact, Seth found himself enjoying the peace that came with his imprint's company.

The seventh day of their travels continued exactly as those previous. They walked; Seth ate and talked to Alec, who occasionally contributed a few words of his own. Nothing deviated even slightly from their 'routine', until sundown.

Seth was busy roasting another of Alec's rabbits (as he had started to call them), when Alec spoke up without any prompting from Seth for the first time in days.

"There is a human settlement not far from our current location Seth," he said.

"Yeah?" Seth questioned. "Did you want to visit or something?" he asked jokingly.

Alec hesitated for a moment before speaking, "I did not predict your inability to phase into your wolf form when planning this journey. It has taken longer than I originally anticipated and I am afraid I will not be able to continue much longer without sustenance."

Seth furrowed his brow in confusion as he tried to figure out what, exactly, it was that Alec was trying to say.

Seeming to take pity on the struggling wolf, Alec sighed quietly before saying, "I have to hunt."

"Oh." Said Seth dumbly, everything suddenly clicking into place.

"I am sorry if this is uncomfortable for you to talk about," said Alec, seeming sincere in his apology.

"No, no, it's fine," Seth was quick to assure. "I know you need blood to survive and I get that you drink from humans. You just surprised me is all."

Surprise was the mildest word Seth could come up with on such short notice, shock would probably have been a better fit, but he hadn't wanted to make Alec feel bad.

If he was telling the truth, in the short time they had spent together Seth had all but forgotten that Alec was a vampire. It wasn't that he suddenly had a problem with it or anything, it was just that he had been so focused on all of the bad stuff happening once they reached Volterra that he hadn't even considered the fact that Alec would need to hunt humans while they were travelling. Although now that it had been brought to his attention, Seth did notice that Alec's eyes, normally ruby red, were now almost black with thirst. He didn't think any less of Alec for having to hunt; more than anything, he was upset that his own reluctance to phase would now cost an innocent human their life.

Alec nodded slowly, as though he knew what Seth was thinking, before standing gracefully and looking down.

"I should return within the hour," he said, waiting for Seth's shaky nod of acceptance before disappearing into the trees faster than Seth's eyes could follow.

Seth sighed to himself quietly and looked at his now cooked food in distaste. It felt as though there was no room left in his stomach next to the guilt that he felt gnawing away there.

* * *

ALEC POV

As Alec ran through the trees, he tried to forget the almost disappointed look that had appeared in Seth's eyes when Alec mentioned hunting. He knew that the young wolf, while generally accepting, would not be completely comfortable with the loss of human life. What Alec was not prepared for however, was the effect that Seth's disappointment and guilt would have on him.

' _Stop it Alec,'_ he thought to himself.  _'Seth probably looked like that on purpose. He's trying to guilt-trip you into hunting animals like the Cullens.'_

Even as the thought passed through his mind, Alec knew this wasn't true. Deception just wasn't in Seth's nature, and neither was manipulation.

As he entered the city, Alec did his best to put Seth out of his mind whilst he hunted for suitable prey.

Alec prided himself on being an incredibly cautious hunter. Being a member of the Volturi, he was very well-versed in vampire law; he knew to hunt somewhere dark enough to at least impair any human witnesses vision, and he knew to look for someone who did not seem as though they would be missed. It was his commitment to these laws that saw Alec gliding silently down one dark, secluded alleyway after another in search of a suitable human.

Soon enough he found his way into a narrow alley, where he could hear the slow heartbeat and peaceful breathing of a sleeping person.

Approximately half way down the path Alec spotted a small alcove in one of the walls, where he found a young human male curled in a ball, fast asleep.

The man's face was gaunt, his clothes were torn and dirty, and his hair was matted with grime. It was highly likely that he would not taste particularly good, but Alec was  _really_ thirsty. Also- though he denied it even to himself- Alec did not want to waste any more time searching an unfamiliar city for suitable prey when it would take away time he could otherwise be spending with Seth.

Alec quickly glanced to both ends of the alley, merely a precaution because there were no streetlights nearby, so it was unlikely he would be spotted by any humans. When he was confident both ends were completely clear, Alec directed his sensory deprivation mist towards the sleeping homeless man to eliminate the slim chance of him startling awake and creating a scene.

As the slow-moving mist reached his prey, Alec bent slightly to gain better access to the man's neck, which was gently pulsing with blood. He could feel the saliva pooling in his mouth and he was right on the verge of biting down when the human suddenly emitted a soft snore, shifting slightly in his sleep.

Alec leapt so far back that he slammed heavily into the opposing wall of the alley. The sound his prey had just made was almost identical to the soft snores that Seth produced whilst sleeping.

Alec shook his head violently, pushing the thought to the back of his mind. This man was nothing like Seth, and even if he were,  _'why should that stop me drinking from him?'_ Alec questioned himself.

Not giving himself time to answer, Alec crept forward once again, this time determined to feed. However, once the original thought has been planted, Alec could not shake it. As he looked at the man, Alec noticed that his eyelashes were unusually long and dark for a human male and under the thin layer of grime coating the human, his skin was tanned a colour not dissimilar to that of the Quileute tribe.

The more he looked, the more Alec found similarities between the man and Seth, and the more similarities he found, the more reluctant Alec became to kill him.

Eventually Alec growled in frustration and leapt away from the human once again, this time making sure to avoid the wall, and disappeared from the alley.

* * *

Alec attempted to prey on no fewer than four humans that night, but all of them had at least one feature that reminded him of Seth, and once he made a connection between a human and the young werewolf, Alec found himself to be completely incapable of killing them.

Frustrated at his confusing feelings, and still overwhelmingly thirsty, Alec gave up hunting as a lost cause for the night and returned to his and Seth's campsite.

Alec was determined to find out why he was feeling so strongly towards the werewolf. He was absolutely sure Seth was the root of his sudden emotional issues, and that the wolf boy would have the answers he was looking for.

* * *

SETH POV

Seth was rudely woken by a loud crashing sound. He startled awake and was shocked to see Alec standing before him, looking frustrated and, surprisingly, with eyes still the same dark colour demonstrated by thirsty vampires.

Before Seth had a chance to ask what was wrong, Alec was standing right in front of him.

"What have you done to me?" he demanded.

Although Alec's voice seemed calm, Seth could sense a danger in his tone, and he was suddenly overcome with the fear that he had done something terribly wrong.

"What do you mean?" Seth asked, almost afraid of the answer.

"You know exactly what I mean," Alec growled. "I planned to hunt, to quench my thirst, yet every human I came upon reminded me of you in some manner or another and I suddenly found myself unable to lift a finger against them."

Alec's voice rose in volume as he continued, until he was practically yelling, "Why am I feeling like this? What have to done to me?"

Seth could see pain and fear behind Alec's eyes and he suddenly realised that the vampire boy had also been affected by Seth's imprinting. Not to the extent which Seth himself had been affected, but Alec's feelings towards Seth had obviously been influenced all the same.

Seth suddenly felt a wave of sorrow. He hadn't wanted this for Alec, he had never meant for his imprint to get hurt, or to have to change himself for Seth, but it had happened regardless and it didn't seem as though there was anything either of them could do about it.

"I'm so sorry Alec," Seth confessed wretchedly. "I never thought this would affect you too, not like this."

Alec almost looked confused, yet when he spoke his voice still contained a dangerous quality, "You never thought  _what_ would affect me Seth?"

Maybe it was the fear he could see swirling in the depths of his imprint's dark eyes, maybe it was the pain he could hear in his voice, or maybe it was simply the way Alec said his name. Whatever it was, Seth didn't know, nor did he care, he had made up his mind.

It was time to tell Alec the truth.


	18. Chapter 18

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth tells Alec everything.

SETH POV

Seth didn't know how long he spoke for. He hardly paused and Alec didn't interrupt once, but by the time he was finished the sun was getting ready to rise over the trees.

Seth had told Alec  _everything_. He told him about the anticipation he'd felt before confronting the Volturi, the fight with his pack and his family, running away and the imprint- especially the imprint.

Seth told Alec every detail about imprinting, what the pack knew, what the tribe thought, and his own personal theories. He especially focused on what imprinting had felt like for him, the feeling of floating, of disconnecting from the world piece by piece until the only thing holding him in place was Alec, how every step away from Alec was like a physical pain in his chest and, most of all, the overwhelming need to protect, to  _love_ , no matter the cost.

Seth also hurried to assure Alec several times that there was no pressure on them having a romantic relationship, that he could be whatever Alec needed him to be. That, in fact, just being close to Alec, being able to reassure himself that his imprint was safe, was all Seth really needed from this.

When he had finally finished his recount, Seth was incredibly tired, but he resisted the drooping of his eyelids and waited patiently to see how Alec would react.

In his wildest imaginations of what would happen when he finally told Alec everything, both good and bad, Seth had  _never_ anticipated this.

Alec crossed the clearing swiftly, for a human not a vampire, and knelt in front of Seth. His hands twitched as though he had wanted to reach out, but he restrained himself, and spoke, "I am so sorry Seth."

Seth furrowed his brows in confusion, "Sorry for what? None of this is your fault."

Then Seth was suddenly struck with a terrible thought, "Unless you're sorry because you don't feel the same way?" he asked, panicked that he was about to lose the most important person in his world.

"You know I don't need to have an actual relationship right?" he explained frantically. "We don't have to be anything you don't want to be."

"Unless you don't want us to be anything at all?" He guessed, now beginning to freak out just a little before coming to a horrifying realisation.

"Oh my god, of course you don't want us to be anything at all! I'm a werewolf and you're a vampire and I can be really annoying, all I've done since we started here is talk at you and ask questions you don't want to answer! I'm still doing it now! I've completely ruined everything, haven't I?" Seth rambled, unable to stop.

"You hate me, don't you?" he sobbed. "I'm so, so sorry. I didn't mean for this to happen, but it has. Please don't send me away, please. I'll do anything; just don't make me leave you." Seth begged, tears streaking down his face, brown eyes boring into Alec's almost black ones as he assumed his worst fears were about to be realised.

* * *

ALEC POV

Alec was panicked. Seth had completely misunderstood what he was trying to say, and now he was left staring the heartbroken boy in the eyes and wondering how he could possibly fix this for the werewolf when he was so confused himself.

Suddenly, Alec recalled the strange promise Marcus had had him make,  _'Keep an open mind and give anything a chance, even if it seems impossible'._ He realised the Volturi leader had known about Seth's imprinting all along, and had clearly supported it. Feeling confident now that Seth's account was completely true, Alec felt a surge of empathy for the sobbing boy in front of him, who really was hardly more than a child, even by human standards.

Hesitantly, he reached out and grasped one of Seth's larger hands in his own, and he was immediately struck by how well they seemed to fit together. Seth's hand was larger and, while not unbearably hot as werewolves' skin was often described by vampires, it was pleasantly warm- a temperature Alec could not recall feeling in all his centuries as a vampire. It was this feeling of absolute  _rightness_ that gave Alec the strength he needed to speak.

"Hey," he murmured, smiling gently at Seth, who was breathing deeply, trying and failing to calm the flow of tears running from his eyes. "Calm down, you did not give me an opportunity to complete what I was going to say."

Alec watched as Seth looked first confused, then hopeful. The wolf boy straightened slightly, took a few calming breaths and wiped his eyes before looking at Alec once again and nodding.

Alec began, "What I was going to say was: I am sorry you imprinted on me because it has clearly caused you a lot of pain and fear, especially where your tribe is concerned."

Seth looked as though he was about to argue, but Alec simply held up the hand that was not currently occupied with Seth's and continued, "You may present any argument you wish, yet the fact remains that if you had imprinted on a human female, none of this conflict would have occurred. This is why I am sorry, I can assure you that I do not hate you at all and you have not  _ruined_ anything."

As he spoke, Alec witnessed the light return to Seth's eyes, and for the first time he actually gave notice to how incredibly beautiful the boy was. In his mind, Seth was clearly the most beautiful being Alec had ever had the good fortune to perceive, even compared to vampires, who were widely considered the most beautiful of all humanoid beings.

This thought scared Alec immensely; he was not used to feeling so strongly towards someone, and had never considered anyone, least of all a werewolf, to be physically beautiful. Yet there was no denying it, for when Alec looked into Seth's coffee brown eyes, beautiful was the only plausible adjective that came to mind.

When Seth began to reply, Alec had to almost forcibly shake himself to return his mind to the issue at hand.

"You really don't mind?" Seth asked hesitantly, "You aren't disgusted or anything?"

Alec frowned slightly and gently squeezed Seth's hand before replying, "No Seth, I am far from disgusted. A little confused perhaps, definitely surprised and slightly conflicted, but I am not disgusted," he said, deciding that honesty really was the best policy in this situation.

With Seth's hopeful smile prompting him, Alec continued, "All of this is a lot for me to take in at the moment, and it may take some time for me to come to terms with everything; however, what I do know is that none of this is your fault, no matter what you seem to believe, and I am not going to condemn you for it."

Seth's eyes lit up, "Really?" he asked, hope clearly evident in his voice.

"Yes, really." Alec replied, his own eyes twinkling in real amusement for the first time in over a century. It seemed as though Seth had become particularly adept at prompting a lot of 'firsts' for Alec recently.

' _Get back to the point Alec,'_  he chastised himself, trying to stop thinking about Seth for one moment so he could finally complete what he had been trying to say all along.

"I'm not going to tell you that I am suddenly in love with you Seth," Alec warned, not wanting the boy to get his hopes up. "I know I have feelings for you, but I honestly do not yet know what they are, and when it comes to you, I find myself increasingly confused."

At these words, Seth's smile finally reached its full brilliance and, although the sun had not yet risen completely, Alec's whole world was instantly lit up by the look on the boy's face alone.

"That's fine," Seth insisted. "You don't have to promise me anything, I'm perfectly content just being near you, and so long as you're okay with everything, I'm brilliant."

Seeing the complete sincerity in Seth's eyes, Alec nodded slightly in agreement.

They fell into a companionable silence then, both contemplating what they had learned and trying to sort out their feelings.

Suddenly, Alec noticed Seth's eyelids beginning to droop and he reluctantly began to remove his hand from the warm comfort of Seth's. When Seth looked at him questioningly, Alec began to rise to his feet and simply said, "You are clearly tired, I will leave you to sleep."

Seth's hand tightened slightly as he looked at Alec, "I-" he began to say, before shaking his head dismissively and cutting himself off.

"Yes?" Alec asked, curious.

Seth looked conflicted for a moment, then his eyes hardened with resolve and he asked hopefully, "Would you stay?"

"I am not leaving" replied Alec. "I will simply be a few feet away", he continued, indicating towards a nearby tree.

Seth sighed before asking again, "No, I mean would you stay here... with me?"

Alec was confused, "While you sleep?" 

Seth nodded, then uncertainty began to creep into his expression and he started rambling again.

"Unless of course you don't want to?" he asked quickly. "I don't want you to feel pressured or uncomfortable or anything, I'll be fine on my own, you don't-"

Seth cut himself off as, instead of replying, Alec simply shifted his grip on Seth's hand so it was more comfortable for the both of them, before settling comfortably against the tree, left shoulder pressed gently against Seth's right.

Seth was clearly startled, but he got over it quickly, squeezing Alec's hand gently and murmuring, "Thank you," in a soft but grateful voice.

Alec only had the opportunity to give a small smile in return before Seth was asleep, his soft snores echoing quietly through the surrounding trees.

Alec smiled again, before relaxing completely against the tree and settling in for a night of hard thinking and watching Seth sleep, which he hoped was less creepy than it sounds.

In that one moment, Alec forgot completely about his conflicted feelings and his burning thirst. The warmth of Seth's hand grasped carefully in his own was making Alec feel more content than he could ever remember having felt, even as a human.

As the sun finally rose above the tree line, Alec turned his face upward and, closing his eyes, he basked in its soft light. The gentle heat radiating from Seth's body allowed Alec to feel warm in the sun for the first time in over a millennia. It was a feeling Alec had definitely missed, although he had not fully realised it until now.

Alec relaxed completely against the tree and allowed his mind to wander for the time being, feeling strangely calm despite the emotional turmoil he should have been feeling in light of Seth's confession. What Alec did not yet realise was that his subconscious had already decided how it felt about the boy resting quietly to his left, and the significant place said boy would soon occupy in Alec's once empty heart.


	19. Chapter 19

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Alec is still having issues finding someone to eat.

SETH POV

When Seth woke the next day Alec was still by his side; however, neither of them made mention of the previous nights conversation as they prepared for the day's trek.

Seth did not take Alec's silence as a rejection. The vampire's usually blank expression had become increasingly thoughtful as the day went on, and honestly, Seth was just relieved to have finally gotten everything off of his chest. Considering the confusion he himself had felt over the past week, Seth was more than happy to allow his imprint all the time he needed to think over what Seth had told him, it was a lot to take in.

While they rarely spoke during the next two days, the silence between Seth and Alec was companionable, rather than awkward, and Alec continued to hunt for Seth's meals and sit with him while he slept. These caring actions served to reinforce Seth's hope that his imprint was not going to reject him completely.

During this time, Alec had also attempted to hunt for humself several more times, but with no success.

While the vampire never again took out his frustration on Seth, he could see Alec's moods as they switched between anger and confusion at his inability to end a human life. On the evening of the third day since Seth had opened his heart to Alec, the vampire returned from yet another attempt at hunting, eyes still dark and shining with thirst. This time however, Alec's face was showing neither anger nor confusion, rather what seemed to be resignation.

Having eaten his fill of the game Alec provided for his dinner earlier, Seth was content merely to sit against the tree and wait for Alec to reveal whatever he was feeling, knowing that asking would likely get him nowhere and would probably only serve to frustrate the vampire further.

After watching his imprint simply stand and stare into space for some time, Seth was mildly relieved when Alec initiated eye contact and said, "It is futile."

Not having expected such a cryptic statement, Seth furrowed his brow in confusion before daring to ask, "What's futile?"

Alec stared into his eyes for a time before responding, "My continued attempts to hunt and feed from humans. It is clear to me that, unless I gain the ability to cut off my own senses and persuade you to force-feed me human blood whilst I am incapacitated, two events I deem as being highly improbable- if not completely impossible, I am going to be unable to overcome the mental barrier I seem to have created for myself and take a human life."

Though he was feeling no small degree of shock and confusion, Seth's concern for his imprint's well-being won out over his natural curiosity and he asked, "But how are you going to make the rest of the journey without blood? Surely you can't go another two-or-so weeks without it?"

When he next looked at Seth, Alec's face was back to its usual controlled expression; however, his eyes seemed almost exasperated, as though he had hoped Seth would realise the answer on his own. The almost childish look in the eyes of his imprint gave Seth the sudden urge to laugh, an urge he only quashed because he didn't want to offend Alec when the vampire was clearly feeling uncomfortable with having to explain himself fully.

"Animal blood will be more than sufficient to sustain me for the remainder of our trip to Volterra," he stated quietly. "The Cullen coven's strength is proof enough of that."

Seth opened his mouth and then closed it again in shock. He was filled with an overwhelming sense of hope and despair at the same time. Hope, because the love he felt for Alec would no longer be tempered by his imprint's diet of human blood, and despair because, no matter how hard he had tried to prevent it, Seth's imprinting on Alec had changed the vampire's life in a way that was very likely causing him pain.

"I- Are you sure?" Seth eventually managed to stutter.

All Alec managed in return was a curt nod. The vampire boy made to run into the trees when an idea occurred to Seth.

"Would you like me to come with you?" he offered.

Alec stopped moving so abruptly Seth was sure that, were he human, he would have gotten whiplash. The vampire looked at Seth over his shoulder with eyes that seemed to scream  _yes!_ But all that came out of his mouth was, "This is not something you need to see Seth."

The pain Seth detected in his imprint's voice made up his mind for him and, in a few long strides, he had crossed the clearing to stand at Alec's side.

"Probably not," he shrugged at Alec. "But it is something I  _want_ to do. For you."

Alec closed his eyes and breathed deeply through his nose, something that must be for calming purposes as Seth was sure he didn't need the oxygen, before giving another curt nod and moving into the trees at a relatively slow pace, which Seth could easily keep up with in his human form.

As he jogged quickly after Alec, Seth smiled to himself.

' _Maybe he's starting to let me in after all.'_

* * *

Seth knew it wouldn't take Alec long to find something suitable to 'eat', and he was right. They had been jogging for no more than two minutes when Alec suddenly darted off and disappeared into a dense copse of trees.

With his human ears, all Seth heard was a quick, loud snap, and when he reached Alec it was to see him kneeling on the forest floor next to a small buck whose neck had clearly been snapped.

When he heard Seth crash through the trees in the usual less-than-graceful manner that accompanied his human form, Alec looked up at the him with a gaze that was almost fearful.

Seth took in the sight of his imprint carefully, saddened once again that the boy had changed so much for him, that he was enduring such fear and confusion because of Seth's imprint. The fact that there didn't seem to be anything Seth could do to ease Alec's suffering very nearly broke his heart, and he found himself offering Alec a final chance of escape.

"You know, you really don't have to do this," he pleaded with his imprint. "I don't want you to have to do this for me; I know it's hurting you."

Alec looked silently at Seth for a moment before his gaze hardened and he said, "I am not doing this for you Seth, I am doing this for myself."

Before Seth could protest again, Alec swooped down and sunk his teeth into the buck's neck. Seth could see Alec's adam's-apple bobbing as he drank, and he soon found that he was incapable of doing anything other than standing in silence while he waited for Alec to finish.

What Seth was not expecting when Alec raised his face from the buck's neck was for there to be an ecstatic grin on the vampire's face. He most certainly did not expect Alec to  _laugh_ of all things, as if animal blood were the most delicious delicacy he had ever tasted.

Seth took an involuntary step back at the joyous look on his imprint's face.

"What's going on?" he asked warily.

Alec's grin didn't falter, "This is amazing!"

At Seth's look of absolute confusion, Alec elaborated.

"The taste is completely different to that of a human and, while it is not as pleasant, animal blood is so refreshing!" he exclaimed.

"I don't really understand?" said Seth, still feeling confused at the complete change his imprint had gone through in just a few short minutes.

"I suppose for a human you could replace the blood of humans with wine and that of animals with water," Alec explained.

"Suppose you lived your life drinking nothing but wine," he began. "The taste is delicious, yet, unbeknownst to you, it was impairing your mind and body- negatively affecting your every thought and movement."

"It would not be something you realised whilst you continued to sustain yourself on the wine," Alec continued. "Yet, the moment you stopped drinking the wine and replaced it with water you would realise everything you had been missing; that, whilst the water may not have quite so pleasing a taste, it allows you free reign over your own body and mind."

"I feel more alive than I have in centuries!" exclaimed the vampire, jumping swiftly to his feet with a ridiculous grin on his face. "It's as though I have been existing in a drunken haze and now everything is so much clearer."

Alec's cheer was infectious and Seth found himself grinning in return.

"It's really that good?" he asked his imprint.

"It is really that good," replied Alec joyously.

"Well, I'm glad," said Seth, with a slightly calmer smile than before.

Before the werewolf fully realised what was going on, Alec had crossed the distance between them and swept Seth into a (not literally) bone-crushing hug.

The vampire boy buried his face in Seth's neck, breathing deeply before whispering "Thank you" softly against his skin.

With that one small gesture, Seth practically melted. He wrapped his arms just as tightly around Alec and whispered, "You are so very welcome," in return, desperately trying to keep his tears at bay.

Eventually the two boys broke away from each other, both laughing lightly as Seth attempted to surreptitiously wipe the tears of happiness from his eyes.

When he had fully composed himself, Seth locked eyes with Alec and asked, "Okay?"

Alec smiled gently at the boy who had changed his life so much in such a short amount of time, and nodded slightly.

"Okay." 

And apparently Alec hadn't made Seth happy enough for one day; as the boys began making their way back to their campsite for the evening, Alec gently grabbed Seth's larger hand in his own, more delicate one, interlocking their fingers and swinging them gently between them as they walked.

Seth's heart felt as though it was going to burst with emotion; he couldn't have stopped himself from grinning if he'd tried.

Alec kept his hold on Seth's hand for the rest of the night.


	20. Chapter 20

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Events from Alec's past come back to bite Seth.

ALEC POV

After Alec's discovery of the wonders of animal blood, the atmosphere between Seth and Alec whilst travelling was markedly brighter. Alec settled into a routine of walking, hunting for both him and Seth, and sitting by the werewolf as he slept.

Alec estimated that it would only take them four more days of walking before they would be far enough away from Forks and La Push to catch an aeroplane to Italy without running the risk of being recognised.

On the second day of travel however, there occurred a series of events that would completely alter their plans.

Alec had drunk his fill of animal blood for the day and was now hunting for food for Seth, who had asked for privacy to relieve himself.

Alec was in the process of stalking a small herd of deer, when suddenly his path was blocked by a tall, dark haired vampire who he recognised all too well.

Alec turned his head sharply to see a blonde vampire of similar stature to the first lurking behind him. The appearance of this second vampire confirmed what Alec had already guessed: the Romanian's were ready to enact their revenge for the part he had played in the destruction of their coven.

* * *

"Well, well, well, what do we have here?" mocked Vladimir, stepping forward slowly. "Surely not a prized possession of Aro's, all alone so far from home?"

"What do you think," he continued, "could possibly be so important to the Volturi as to require the skills of the Witch, Stefan?"

"I do not know Vladimir," said Stefan, playing along. "It must be incredibly important for Aro to have sent this one, rather than his marginally more psychotic sister."

"Indeed," confirmed Vladimir, staring intently at Alec. "It is of little matter to us, however, considering he will not live long enough to complete his mission."

It was with this threat that Alec began to draw on his power; however the mist which allowed him to cut of his opponent's senses was too slow moving to prevent Alec from being tackled to the ground by Vladimir's lightning fast attack.

Alec was relatively untrained in hand-to-hand combat, the paralysing nature of his gift generally rendered it unnecessary, and as such it did not take long for Vladimir to have Alec pinned on his back with the Romanian's hands on either side of his face, preparing to snap his neck.

At this proximity Alec's gift was useless; Vladimir did not need all of his senses to jerk his hands and render Alec headless.

"Any last words, Witch?" Vladimir snarled in his face, hands tensing in preparation.

Before Alec had the opportunity to reply, however, there was a strange noise in the trees, like cloth tearing, followed by a fierce howl. Before any of the vampires had time to react, a huge, sandy wolf sprung from the trees and tackled Vladimir, biting into the vampire's neck and tearing his head from his body.

Right before Vladimir lost his head, Alec heard Seth's wolf howl in pain and something inside him snapped. Instead of slowly flowing from his body as it always had, the mist that carried Alec's power shot from his body faster that even his superior vampire vision could follow, immediately freezing Stefan in his attempt to flee the scene.

Alec walked up behind the brunette vampire and, with no hesitation, tore the Romanian's head from his body, pulled a lighter from his shirt pocket, and set the ancient vampire alight.

Once Alec was sure there was nothing left of Stefan but ash, he deemed it safe enough to turn his back and walk toward Seth.

The huge wolf was lying on the forest floor, panting heavily; but, as Alec approached, Seth jerked his head toward Vladimir's corpse, indicating that he wanted Alec to take care of Vladimir before helping Seth.

Quickly piling Vladimir's head and body together, Alec repeated the process with which he had incinerated Stefan, before turning quickly toward Seth, remembering the pained howl he had heard just as the wolf had decapitated the Romanian vampire.

Alec crouched next to Seth, taking a short moment to admire the boy's wolf-form, before running his hands gently over Seth's sandy fur in search of any injuries, knowing that any broken bones would have to be re-set, lest Seth's accelerated healing caused them to set wrong.

Alec saw no signs of a broken bone, and he was almost ready to breathe a sigh of relief when, in the fur of Seth's neck, his hand encountered a warm, sticky substance: blood.

The fact that Seth's scent was always so fresh and clean to Alec meant that the vampire boy had not realised Seth was bleeding until he saw the evidence on his palm.

Alec gently parted the fur on Seth's neck, all the while whispering reassurances to the shaking wolf, and what he saw made him gasp in horror.

There, on Seth's neck, were two small but deep crescent shaped scars. A vampire bite.

During one of their conversations in the past weeks, in which Seth spoke and Alec listened in silence, Seth had told him of the deathly effect that vampire venom could have on a werewolf. Without pausing to consider it, Alec swiftly bent over Seth's neck and attached his mouth to the existing bite, trying his absolute best to suck the venom from the wolf boy.

Alec could taste Seth's blood clearing, becoming fresher; however, it had been too long since the venom was administered, and Alec knew that if he took any more Seth would not stand a chance. It was with great reluctance that Alec detached himself from Seth's neck and whispered into his ear, "I cannot remove all of it Seth, not without risking further harm to you."

Seth whimpered in what Alec interpreted as acceptance, and Alec's left hand curled gently in his soft fur before he spoke again, "I need you to please turn back Seth. It will be easier for me to monitor you in your human form, and remaining in your wolf form may do you more harm than good."

Seth whined again, and his body seemed to ripple as sandy fur retracted into smooth, tan skin until the Seth that Alec was familiar with had returned, slumped weakly on the forest floor.

Alec gently draped his dark grey cloak over Seth and wrapped it around his shoulders to provide the injured boy with some sense of modesty, his clothes having torn in the process of his transformation.

In any other circumstance, Alec may have stopped to appreciate Seth's exposed skin more carefully. Now, however, his eyes were completely drawn to the swollen marks on Seth's previously smooth neck.

The bite almost looked like an infected human wound, red and puffy around the edges and oozing a clear, thick liquid.

Alec knew that a vampire's bite almost always meant death for a werewolf; however, Seth had told him there were some cases in history where a tribe member had survived the bite. If a wolf had no wounds or illnesses in addition to the vampire venom then it was possible their body may be able to fight the venom's effects. All Alec could hope is that this would be the case for Seth.

Alec was brought out of his thoughts by the feel of a large, warm hand linking with his. He looked away from the bite on Seth's neck to see Seth's deep brown eyes gazing intently into Alec's own.

"You got most of it out," Seth rasped in reassurance. "I'm going to be fine; I just need a little rest."

Alec nodded sharply; he knew he needed to have the same optimism in order to keep himself and Seth calm for the coming trial.

As gently as he could, Alec wrapped an arm around Seth's knees and his shoulders, and slowly lifted the larger boy from the ground, being sure not to jostle his neck on the way.

Slowly but surely, Alec walked back to their agreed upon campsite for the night and carefully lowered Seth to the ground, laying him gently on the grass before rising to take Seth's spare clothing from his pack.

Alec gently dressed Seth, trying his best to preserve the boy's dignity as he did so. By this point, Seth's eyes had closed and his skin was burning far hotter than usual, but he was shivering as though freezing.

Alec knew this reaction was Seth's body's way of fighting the vampire venom, but all the same, after he finished dressing Seth, Alec once again wrapped the boy tightly in his cloak, trying to provide him with as much warmth as possible.

Looking upon Seth's shivering body, Alec felt an immense wave of guilt and fear wash over him. If Seth died, it would be because he had been protecting Alec. It seemed to the vampire as though all he had caused Seth since they had met was pain, and that knowledge made Alec's un-beating heart contract sharply in his chest in a way it had not in over one thousand years.

In that moment Alec swore that if, no  _when_ , Seth woke up, he would grab on to the werewolf as hard as he could and never let go. He would do everything in his power to prevent Seth from hurting like this ever again, even if it meant disobeying the direct orders of his coven.

Seeing Seth like this, knowing the pain losing the boy would cause him, it was clear now that the werewolf is his mate. Alec loved him more than he had ever loved anything during his whole immortal life, and nothing would ever be more important than making sure Seth was as safe and happy as possible.

He just hopes Seth will survive long enough for Alec to have the chance to tell him that.


	21. Chapter 21

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth's point of view of the Romanian's attack.

SETH POV

Seth had requested privacy from Alec in order to relieve himself. He may have grown closer to the vampire in the days since Seth had revealed his imprint, but they were definitely not at the stage in which Seth would be comfortable going to the bathroom in Alec's presence.

When he was done, Seth went looking for Alec, knowing that he wouldn't have gone completely out of earshot whilst hunting in case either he or Seth needed help.

Even before he had become a werewolf Seth's hearing was above-average for a human, and so, when he heard murmuring in the trees ahead of him, he immediately realised that Alec's voice was not the only one talking.

When he was close enough to see through the trees without being seen himself, all Seth saw was Alec being pinned to the ground by one of the creepy Romanian vampires who had fought on the Cullens' side against the Volturi, Vladimir he thought.

Seth saw red, and without pausing to think, he phased into his wolf form and immediately leapt at the vampire who had dared to threaten his imprint.

With no time for strategy or finesse, Seth simply tackled the blonde vampire and clamped his teeth around the man's neck.

Right before tearing the vampire's neck from his shoulders, however, Seth felt the blonde twist his head in return and clamp his own teeth down on Seth's neck, breaking through both fur and skin to draw blood.

Tearing Vladimir's head off ripped his teeth from Seth's neck, and his wolf let loose a vicious, pain filled howl before collapsing to the ground.

As his body fell, so did his adrenalin levels, and Seth finally registered the voices that had been yelling in the back of his mind since the moment he phased.

' _Oh, hey guys,'_ he mumbled in his head. The pain he could feel from the vampire venom coursing through his veins made him too tired to muster up anything more impressive for the people he had run away from.

Seth felt relieved as he noticed Alec tearing the head off of the other Romanian and setting him alight. Knowing his imprint was safe for the moment at least, he allowed the voices of his sister and brothers to take up most of his attention, though not before twitching his head toward Vladimir's corpse, hoping Alec would get the hint and take care of the body before concerning himself with Seth.

' _Seth, where are you?!'_

' _Are you alright?'_

' _What's happening?'_

' _You need to come home now!'_

' _Sheesh guys, calm down,'_ he thought at his pack. All of their voices were melding together so he couldn't tell who was who, and it was giving him a major headache.

' _I know you're worried, but if I tell you where I am we all know you're going to try and come after me and that really isn't what I want.'_

Seth could feel now that Alec was kneeling next to him, gently running his cool hands through Seth's fur until he brushed against the wound on Seth's neck.

Seth whined low in his throat and recoiled mentally, shutting his pack up immediately.

Seth could hear Alec whispering reassurances even as he moved Seth's fur to get a better look at the injury, and the soft gasp that came from his imprint only confirmed Seth's fears.

' _What is it Seth?'_

Seth could make out the Alpha tone in Jacob's voice among the questions of his other pack members and he replied on instinct,  _'Vampire bite.'_

He could feel the shock and dismay emanating from his pack, but before any of them could say a thing Seth felt a cool mouth close around the wound on his neck, gently sucking the blood from his body.

He could feel his pack, panicked and disgusted, screaming for him to tell them where he was, but he blocked them out and concentrated completely on the feel of Alec's mouth at his neck and the slight receding of pain that came with it.

' _He's not trying to hurt me,'_ Seth reassured his pack.  _'He's sucking the venom out of my blood so I don't_ die. _'_

Seth could feel the disbelief emanating from the other wolves but, sure enough, Alec detached his mouth from Seth's neck before he could lose too much blood.

The raw pain in Alec's voice when he told Seth of his inability to remove all of the venom caused the La Push wolves to finally shut up, and, ignoring their confusion, Seth simply promised to return to his wolf form when he was healed so they could see his recovery for themselves, before acquiescing to Alec's wish and returning to his human form. He knew his pack were only worried for his wellbeing, but between his own pain and the grief in the voice of his imprint, Seth couldn't muster up the will to worry about them too, especially considering that almost half of them had conspired with the Council to keep him from Alec.

Seth wouldn't have thought it possible, but the pain of the bite was even sharper when he was human, and he barely noticed Alec's cloak wrapping around his shoulders, or being lifted and carried back to their camp.

Seth was doing his best to avoid making any noise that might alert Alec to just how severely the burning venom was affecting him, but something in the vampire's eyes as he gently laid Seth on the ground told him that his efforts hadn't been particularly successful.

He found that he could not spare the energy to verbally reassure Alec at the moment though, which showed how severely the venom was affecting him, that he could not even try to make his imprint feel better.

Seth's body was so cold he felt as though he was on fire. He was freezing in a way he had never felt before, even prior to becoming a werewolf.

He finally knew what a vampire's touch felt like to other wolves, but, unlike a simple touch, this feeling was all over his body and no amount of shivering was warming him up in the slightest.

Seth felt as though he was freezing solid from the inside out, and the feeling was only amplified by the fact that his temperature normally ran so hot.

As Alec dressed Seth and wrapped him in his cloak, the feel of his imprint's skin was like a warm balm on his freezing skin. He leaned into the touch gratefully, and when he was pulled into the vampire's lap he didn't complain. He snuggled in as close as he could to Alec, trying to touch as much of their skin together as possible.

Seth knew that his chances of surviving this bite were incredibly slim, even after Alec had removed most of the venom; there were virtually no accounts of Quileute wolves healing from a vampire bite, and the only real 'records' they did have were hundred year old legends.

In this moment, however, held tight in the arms of his vampire imprint, Seth knew he would do it all over again. He would gladly endure such pain a thousand times over if it meant that Alec would continue to live.

The pain of the vampire venom freezing in his blood was nothing compared to what Seth had felt when he saw Vladimir pinning Alec to the ground. The fear of losing his imprint had been almost crippling, and Seth knew that if he had lost Alec the pain would have been so great that he would simply have ceased to exist.

A world without Alec was not a world worth living in, in his opinion, and if Seth survived this he was never leaving Alec's side again.


	22. Chapter 22

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth struggles against the vampire venom in his system as Alec watches over him.

SETH POV

The wound on Seth’s neck was killing him. _Literally_.

His entire body was so cold it felt as though his heart was trying to pump ice through his veins, rather than blood.

He was shivering, and his teeth were chattering so hard he had drawn blood when he’d accidentally bitten his lip earlier. He could feel Alec helping him into another layer of clothes and wrapping him tightly in his soft Volturi cloak, but nothing was helping and Seth felt as cold as ever.

He had never been in so much pain in his life, and if he didn’t have Alec to live for he probably would have given up the struggle to survive some time ago. As it was, Seth knew he couldn’t leave Alec alone now, not when his imprint was still struggling to come to terms with the changes the last few weeks had brought to his life. Seth knew that if he gave up now, life would only become that much harder for Alec.

Also, if Seth died, Alec would have to return to the Volturi empty-handed, and Seth didn’t even want to consider the punishment that Aro would inflict on a member of his coven for failing to do his bidding.

So, with his imprint in mind, he struggled through the pain, refusing to be brought down by the final desperate act of an ancient vampire with a thousand-year-old grudge.

Throughout his struggle Seth was helped by Alec, who was never far from his side. He could feel Alec rubbing his arms and legs, trying to warm him up, and gently helping him swallow small amounts of water on a regular basis so he didn’t dehydrate. Also, though he couldn’t focus long enough to hear the exact words, Seth had a strong feeling that Alec was whispering reassurances into his ear the whole time, holding Seth tightly to his chest all the while.

 

* * *

 

Seth had become so used to the constant cold and shivering that it took him a while to notice when it finally stopped.

At first the relief was so sharp that Seth knew he must be dead, and all he could think was that he wished he hadn’t had to leave Alec so soon; however, Seth soon realised that, while the cold was mostly gone, he could still feel a steady throbbing pain in his neck and a warm presence at his back. It was then that he recognised the soft music in his head for what it was- Alec’s voice.

Seth could hear his own name being whispered softly into his ear, Alec also having noticed that he had stopped shivering, and he felt himself being warmed further by an overwhelming affection for his imprint. Alec wasn’t tied to this imprint the way that Seth was, he could have forced Seth to keep moving, or simply left him to die. Instead, Alec had stayed by his side the entire time, and that knowledge warmed Seth more than any number of blankets ever could.

Now that he was able to focus on something other than the freezing pain that had been his constant companion for who-knows-how-long, Seth found himself overwhelmed by a crippling weariness, his body needing restful sleep to truly heal.

This genuine tiredness, coupled with the relief that came with the absence of any severe pain, allowed Seth to lean fully into Alec’s chest, relaxing as he hadn’t been able to since Vladimir had bitten him.

As he finally felt himself relax into a peaceful slumber, Seth found the energy to squint his eyes open and whisper to Alec, “I love you.”

 

* * *

 

ALEC POV

Seth had been unconscious for two days now. The vampire venom in his system had drastically slowed his accelerated healing abilities, and Alec could do nothing but sit and listen as Seth’s heart struggled to continue beating.

In the course of his life as a vampire Alec had been responsible for the deaths of thousands of humans, both directly and indirectly. It is strange that, after all of this time, the prospect of death for this one human should cause him so much pain, yet he could not deny the ache in his chest at the thought that Seth may not survive this ordeal.

The entire time Seth had been unconscious, Alec had kept most of his attention on Seth’s struggling heartbeat, listening frantically for any change, be it for better or worse. As such, he noticed the second that Seth’s heartbeat began to strengthen, changing from the slow, sluggish beat of the last two days to a stronger, deeper pulse that suggested the wolf boy was finally beginning to recover from his injury.

Alec waited patiently for several hours as Seth’s heartbeat grew stronger and stronger, eyes never wavering from Seth’s face as the wolf-boy’s eyes moved restlessly behind his eyelids and he finally ceased shivering.

Finally, Seth began to stir, and Alec found himself whispering reassurances into his ear, hoping beyond hope that this was not a false alarm and that Seth really was regaining consciousness.

Alec could tell that Seth was exhausted. Having to fight off vampire venom, coupled with constant violent shivering, had taken its toll on the boy’s body, and he was likely to fall into another slumber before he truly woke, so his body could continue to heal.

The strength of Seth’s heartbeat reassured Alec, and as Seth relaxed fully into his embrace for the first time since he was bitten, Alec allowed himself a moment of peace, convinced that Seth would soon make a full recovery.

What Alec didn’t expect was for Seth to lean his head back and gaze at him with tired, hooded eyes and whisper “I love you.”

Seth fell asleep immediately after, unaware of the effect his confession had had on Alec, who felt as though his un-beating heart was going to explode right out of his chest.

Alec held Seth tighter to his chest, feeling almost overwhelmed at the affection he felt for the boy in that moment, and he could not control the ecstatic grin that suddenly appeared on his face at the absolute knowledge that Seth returned Alec’s newly-recognised feelings. Alec leaned down and gently pressed his lips to Seth’s hair, suddenly all the more eager for Seth to truly wake up so he could inform his mate of his own affections.

 

* * *

 

SETH POV

Seth’s sleep had been almost dreamless, only leaving him with a lingering memory of warmth and comfort. He slowly blinked his eyes open and realised he must have been asleep for several hours, because the sun was setting now, whereas when he had last opened his eyes it had only just been rising over the horizon.

“Seth?”

Seth looked up as he heard his name whispered into his ear. He smiled to see the face of his imprint gazing back at him, bathed in orange light from the setting sun.

“How are you feeling?” Alec asked.

“Better,” Seth croaked, his voice scratchy from a combination of disuse and the yelling he had done before passing out. “Still a bit groggy, but better than before.”

Alec smiled slightly, “I am glad.”

Seth hesitated before he spoke again, wanting to thank Alec for caring for him but not wanting to seem pushy. He quickly shoved that thought aside; Alec deserved to be thanked, and if he freaked out too much, Seth could always pretend he was still delirious.

“Alec, I want you to know that I am really grateful to you for looking after me for however long it is I’ve been out. I know it would have been easier on you to make me keep walking, or even to just leave me here, but you didn’t, and I just want you to know that I appreciate it.”

Alec’s brow furrowed slightly, as though he was annoyed, so Seth certainly wasn’t expecting the vampire to gently cup Seth’s cheek in his hand, look into his eyes and say, “I could never have left you behind Seth.”

Alec must have seen the look of confusion on Seth’s face, because he spoke again before Seth could respond, “Do you remember anything from when you last awoke?”

Now it was Seth’s turn to look confused.

“Um, no? I barely remember waking up at all. I only opened my eyes for a second so I could-”

Seth cut himself off, eyes widening in horror, suddenly recalling why he had opened his eyes, and why such a terrible notion had seemed like a good idea at the time.

“I am so sorry Alec!” he exclaimed. “I don’t know why I said that out loud! I swear I was telling the truth when I said I didn’t want to pressure you into anything, and if you could just forget I ever said anything-”

This time Seth didn’t cut himself off, rather he was shocked into silence when Alec pulled Seth back into his chest, hand once again coming up to cup Seth’s cheek gently.

Seth couldn’t think of anything to say as Alec rested their foreheads together, looking directly into his eyes before whispering so quietly that Seth never would have heard him if they hadn't been so close together.

“Seth, I love you too.”

If Seth had been incapable of talking before, then he was practically mute now. He was sure his mouth was gaping open like an absolute idiot, but even that didn’t last for long, as Alec apparently took his silence as permission (which it totally was) to slowly close the barely-there gap between them and press his lips to Seth’s.

Now _that_ is something that Seth would have responded to even if he was still unconscious and dying from a vampire bite. After the initial shock, Seth responded with as much enthusiasm as he could in his weakened state, leaning into the kiss and wrapping his hand around the back of Alec’s neck, tangling his fingers in the soft hair he found there.  

Seth revelled in the cool press of Alec’s skin against his; it felt so different to the brutal cold of Vladimir’s mouth when he had bitten him.

Of course, Seth soon became short of breath, and at that moment he almost wished he were a vampire too, so he didn’t have to breathe and he would never have to separate from his imprint and the wonder that was their first kiss.

It was Alec who finally pulled back, obviously far more willing to accept Seth’s limits than Seth was.

Before Seth could protest, Alec placed another quick kiss on his mouth before leaning into the tree at his back, pulling Seth with him.

“You need to sleep, you are still healing,” he insisted, beginning to gently stroke Seth’s hair in a manner that was both soothing and distracting at the same time.

Seth made to protest, _as if_ he could sleep now, but Alec kissed him on the forehead, making him blush from the sheer overwhelming force of his _feelings_.

“I will be here when you wake up,” Alec promised.

And with that, Seth conceded defeat and curled into his imprint, resting his head on Alec's chest where his heart would have beaten, were he completely human.

Seth tangled his fingers with Alec’s free hand and sighed.

“I love you,” he repeated, so relieved to finally have said it out loud and had his feelings returned.

Alec tightened his grip on Seth’s hand, and just as he was dozing off he heard Alec reply, “I love you too.”

Seth fell asleep with a smile on his face, the pain of the last two days almost completely forgotten.


	23. Chapter 23

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys have almost reached their destination, but will last-minute doubts change their plans?

SETH POV

After establishing that they were far enough from Forks and La Push that they wouldn't be recognised, on the off chance that Seth’s mother had reported him as missing, the vampire/werewolf duo were able to use the passports forged for them by the Volturi to catch a plane to Rome.

From the airport it would only take a few hours of driving before they reached Volterra, and while Alec drove, Seth took the chance to sleep. As he hovered somewhere between awake and asleep, Seth dreamed of the last few days of travelling- the harmony that had seemed to settle over their interractions once he and Alec had confessed their feelings for one another, and the sheer happiness at having his feelings returned that had kept him on a high that even the ever-nearing prospect of being presented to the Volturi could not dampen.

Seth wasn’t sure if it was the confession of their mutual feelings or the fact that Seth had almost died, but in the recent days Alec had become far more open and talkative than he had been prior to the Romanian’s attack.

They had spoken at length on a number of topics, including both of their pasts. Seth had told Alec what it was like growing up on the Rez, and Alec had, in turn, shared some of his experiences with the Volturi; including, with no small amount of hesitation, the events that had led to he and Jane becoming vampires.

Seth had felt almost physically ill at the thought that, had it not been for the timely intervention of Aro and his coven, his imprint would have been burned at the stake for witchcraft. Seth couldn’t even begin to imagine how terrifying the experience must have been for Alec, and for the first time he understood why Jane is so unstable; it was only through a sheer miracle that Alec had not turned out the same. Seth had no idea what he would have done if his family and pack had tried to kill him for loving Alec, which was something as unavoidable for him as the sensory power was for Alec, rather than simply trying to keep them apart. Seth had never thought he would ever feel any kind of positive feeling for Aro and the majority of the Volturi coven, but if it were not for them Alec would have died long before Seth would have had the opportunity to meet him, and for that twist of fate Seth would be forever grateful.

Gratefulness aside, Seth was not looking forward to meeting with the Volturi again. The closer they came to Volterra, the more afraid Seth became of what would happen when they finally arrived.

The matter of meeting the Volturi was one that had come up several times over the past few days. Both Seth and Alec had given reasons to simply run away, hoping they could avoid the Volturi long enough, and have at least some happiness before they were found and either killed immediately or imprisoned and used for their respective skills. However, every time either of them thought of an excuse to stay away from the other vampires’, they came back to the same issue- Demetri. No matter how hard and fast they ran they would never stand a chance with the tracker against them. The only permanent solution would be to allow Demetri to find them, and then kill him before he had a chance to warn the other members of his coven. Neither of them was keen on this idea though, because, no matter how much he disagreed with their actions, the Volturi were still Alec’s coven and he had been with some of them for centuries. Killing one of them would most certainly hurt Alec, and that was something that Seth couldn’t allow.

So, together they agreed that they would take their chances with the Volturi at first, and if things turned intolerably sour then Alec would use his gift to give them the biggest head start they could manage without killing anyone.

Although they had agreed several times that this was the best course of action, Seth was still afraid of what they would face when they met with the Volturi. This fear had only increased since the full effects of the vampire venom had left his system and he had woken fully, for the first time in almost a week, to realise that the gorgeous eyes gazing at him weren’t their usual ruby red, or even thirsty black, but a shining gold.

As it turns out, werewolf blood apparently speeds along the effects of a vampire’s ‘vegetarian’ diet, and when Alec had tried to suck the venom from Seth’s body the werewolf blood in his veins had completed Alec’s eyes’ transformation from red to gold.

Seth thought that the new colour was amazing on Alec; though he did miss the shining red, which was the first thing he ever noticed about his imprint, he loved what Alec’s new golden eyes represented. Unfortunately, no matter how beautiful, golden eyes did pose a huge problem to their future together, as it cut down the time they could keep their relationship a secret from the Volturi to almost nil. There was no way a group of centuries-old people with fantastic vampire senses would fail to notice such an obvious visual change in someone most of them had known for at least a decade.

Thinking of all the reasons going to the Volturi was a bad idea, not for his own safety, but for fear of what would happen to Alec if Aro discovered his betrayal, made Seth tense; however, just as he opened his mouth to try one final time to convince Alec that maybe a life on the run wouldn’t be so bad, Alec reached across the car and gently placed his hand over Seth’s mouth without ever removing his eyes from the road.

“I know Seth,” he murmured. “I know this is risky, and dangerous, but it is the best chance we have got. We are both too important to Aro for him to have us killed right away, and they will not want to separate us for fear it will lead to both of us rebelling. I know you are afraid Seth, I am as well, but this is the best chance we have to be able to stay together for a very long time, and that is the most important thing in the world to me. _You_ are the most important thing in the world to me Seth, and I will do _anything_ to remain by your side for the duration of both of our lives.”

Seth felt the tears running from his eyes before Alec was even half way through with his speech. As Alec moved his hand from Seth’s mouth to gently wipe the tears from his cheeks, Seth let out a shuddering breath and said, “You’re all I want too Alec, and I don’t know how I got so lucky as to have you, but I’m never letting you go.”

He grasped Alec’s wrist and gently pressed a kiss to his palm, then simply held Alec’s hand to his lips for a few moments, taking in the sweet scent of his imprint, before releasing him.

Alec took his eyes off of the road for a second to smile at Seth and run his hand gently through his hair.

“Sleep,” he murmured, and Seth complied. He leaned his head against the cool window of the car and allowed the gentle motion of his imprint’s hand in his hair to lull him into a deep sleep.

* * *

 

ALEC POV

Alec relaxed as Seth’s breathing evened out, but he continued to run his hand through his mate’s hair even as the werewolf slept. In their current situation the motion was just as soothing to him as it was to Seth.

Alec had meant every word he had spoken to Seth. He really did consider the werewolf to be the most important person in his life, regardless of the fact he had known him for barely more than a month while he had lived with some members of his coven, not to mention his sister, for over a millennium.

There was something about Seth that was just so refreshing to Alec; he brought a light and happiness to Alec that the vampire could not remember ever having felt in his long life, but for the vague remembrance of emotions from before he was turned, too long ago to be a true memory.

The light that followed Seth made Alec more content than anything in his previous centuries of life, and he truly had fallen in love with the boy.

Alec had also meant it when he said he would do anything to keep Seth safe and by his side, for as long as his mate wanted to remain there, and that included going against his own coven.

Alec was not unintelligent, he knew that once his and Seth’s relationship was revealed to Aro the older vampire would do anything to ensure they did not compromise the power of the coven, including threatening either of them to ensure the cooperation of the other.

Alec also knew that his skills were infinitely more useful to Aro than the prospect of a pet werewolf, and if the leader of the Volturi ever had cause to believe that Seth was restricting Alec’s loyalty to the coven he would not hesitate to kill the werewolf, as Alec knew he had done with Marcus’s mate. Didyme was Aro’s own sister by blood, as Jane was Alec’s, and if he was willing to kill her for personal gain then it stood to reason that he would not hesitate to dispose of Seth in a similar manner if the boy threatened the coven's power.

Alec will not let that happen, he will not be separated from his light. He had a plan.


	24. Chapter 24

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys finally reach the Volturi, and it's time for Alec to make a decision.

SETH POV

It was 2 am when Seth woke to discover they had reached the city the Volturi called home. From what he could see in the dark, the city itself was beautiful, built from a pale brown stone on the side of a hill; the cobblestone roads and haphazard way the houses were placed made the it look almost medieval.

While the city was certainly nice to look at, Seth couldn’t help but feel unsettled as the car wound its way through the streets. He didn’t know if it was because he knew the Volturi lived there, but the city felt very unwelcoming, and he was certainly not looking forward to spending the foreseeable future within its walls-or, as it were, beneath its streets.

Alec pulled the car to a stop in a courtyard in front of an impressive cathedral-like building. They sat together in silence for several moments, simply staring at the foreboding building in front of them. Seth’s mind was overcome with thoughts of what would happen once they finally entered and faced the awaiting vampire coven. It was hard for him to believe that, after everything they have gone through in the past few weeks, they had finally reached their destination; yet he also knew that neither he nor Alec could have predicted just how unsatisfying the completion of their journey would ultimately be.

He was drawn from his depressing thoughts by Alec letting out a deep sigh that was clearly for show (what with breathing being unnecessary for vampires and all), but which served to lighten the mood in the car, and even caused Seth’s lips to twitch in an involuntary smile.

Alec pulled the hood of his dark cloak up to cover his face, ensuring that his golden eyes would not be visible at a glance, opened his door and disappeared into the night. Seth was about to follow when his door suddenly opened, seemingly of its own accord, to present Alec, who was wearing a smile so slight it would have been impossible to see had Seth not been looking for it.

“Har har,” he said, voice positively dripping with sarcasm as he exited the car, but, as he passed his imprint he gently brushed their arms together to show that his efforts to lighten Seth’s mood were appreciated.

En-route to Volterra, both Seth and Alec had agreed it would be best for them to limit their positive interactions once they entered the city. They had no way of knowing if Aro was having them watched, and if he was, then a suddenly smiling Alec escorting a werewolf prisoner, who was completely at ease in the company of his vampire captor, would certainly raise Aro’s suspicions and lead to questions they were not prepared to answer just yet.

So it was that, as they entered the building and walked down a long corridor, Seth did not give in to the desire to grasp Alec’s hand in his own.

They walked for a few minutes before Alec bent and picked up a grate on the floor, revealing an underground tunnel.

“Cosy,” murmured Seth. Alec simply smirked and gestured for Seth to go down first.

Seth complied, but instead of moving out of the way of the opening once he had landed, he stood in place and, as Alec dropped, he caught his imprint in his arms.

At this angle Seth could see under Alec’s hood and his imprint’s golden eyes were staring back into his intently. Alec’s hands tightened on Seth’s shoulders and his gaze became even more intense as he brought his face closer to Seth’s. Their noses bumped together before Alec seemed to realise what he was doing. He looked away quickly and jumped down from Seth’s arms before clearing his throat, murmuring “Thank you”, and walking quickly down the tunnel.

Seth smirked before following, “It was my pleasure.”

They left the tunnel and entered a well-lit waiting area that was empty except for a pretty human woman at the desk.

Alec didn’t stop walking at the woman’s protests that they didn’t have an appointment, simply stalking past while saying “Aro is expecting us.”

True to Alec’s word, when they passed through an impressive set of double doors to enter a large, open hall it was clear that they had been expected by not only Aro, but by the entire Volturi coven.

“Welcome home Alec my dear, you have done so well to bring us the Cullens' pet in one piece,” spoke Aro gently. His voice sent shivers racing down Seth’s spine, and not the good kind.

Aro’s voice seemed to take on a more dangerous edge as he continued, “I do wonder, however, what took you so long to return when it seems the boy did not put up a fight.”

Alec didn’t so much as flinch at Aro’s clear disapproval.

 “I apologise,” he said. “Seth could not travel in his wolf form, as all of the wolves in his pack would have been able to read his thoughts and track us down. Additionally, we encountered the Romanian coven last week; Stefan bit Seth during the commotion and it took several days for him to recover.”

Aro raised his eyebrows slightly at their story, but otherwise showed no outward sign of emotion.

“I see,” he said. “And what, pray tell, happened to dear Vladimir and Stefan?”

There was an equal absence of emotion on the portion of Alec’s face that was visible as he replied, “They have been dealt with.”

At this news, Aro showed his first sigh of pleasure. He clasped his hands together under his chin and smiled at Alec in a way that made Seth’s hackles rise.

“Oh, well done my dear, well done,” he sighed. “I can see that we were indeed right to choose you for this mission. You have done me proud.”

Alec inclined his head regally in acceptance of the compliment, but Seth felt him tense slightly and knew that he was just as uncomfortable with Aro’s tone as Seth was. It also didn’t help that Jane’s face had transformed into a violent scowl when Aro has praised her brother, apparently jealous that she had not been chosen to retrieve Seth herself.

Seth shuddered at the thought of how things would have gone if Jane had been the one to find him in the woods that morning, and, despite their earlier cautions, he found himself inching closer to Alec for comfort.

Alec didn’t turn to look at Seth, but he did move slightly himself, so that his left shoulder was lightly brushing Seth’s right, and Seth felt the both of them relax at the contact.

Although they had thought they were being subtle, it was clear it hadn’t been enough. Seth saw Aro’s gaze zero-in on the point of contact between him and Alec, and when he looked around the room he also noticed that Marcus had a small smile on his face, his eyes twinkling in obvious delight. Seth couldn’t help himself, he smiled right back at the only vampire in the room, apart from Alec, who wasn’t acting openly hostile towards the werewolf in their midst.

Unfortunately, Aro caught that as well, and, without removing his eyes from Seth, he reached across and rested his hand on Marcus’s to read his thoughts. Seth flinched as he realised there was no way they could keep their relationship a secret from Aro now, because for someone with Marcus’s skill of seeing the strength of relationships, a werewolf’s imprint and a vampire’s mate must be pretty visible and obvious.

Seth was freaking out, he had hoped that they would have had longer than this before the Volturi realised just how close he and Alec had become on their travels, but now Alec was in just as much danger as Seth. He didn’t think that falling in love with a werewolf was something that Aro would forgive, even to one of his favourite coven members.

As though he could read Seth’s mind, Alec bridged the gap between them, tiny as it was, and grasped Seth’s hand firmly within his own to show a united front against his coven, all of whom now seemed to realise that something very serious was going on.

Aro removed his hand from Marcus and leaned back in his chair, hands folded under his chin as he gazed at Seth and Alec through hooded eyes.

“I see,” he said. “Well, this is not something I expected; however, I believe we can turn this to our advantage.”

He turned his gaze to Seth alone and asked, “Am I correct in believing you have imprinted on our Alec?”

Sensing there was an ulterior motive behind Aro’s question, Seth stared hard into the Volturi leader’s eyes and spoke clearly, “Yes.”

Apparently that was exactly what Aro wanted to hear, because the Volturi leader’s face was immediately taken over by a joyful, creepy smile that made Seth’s skin crawl.

“Excellent,” he whispered gleefully. “I must say, I did not expect this, but I am very impressed with your initiative Alec; making sure the boy became attached to you so he will refuse to leave us, even if his friends demand his return-  I could not have planned this better myself.”

“Excuse me?” Alec asked gently.

“Well my darling, it is simple,” Aro simpered. “If the boy will not submit to our will, we will simply refuse to let him see you. He will not hold out for long, these wolves are almost as dependent on their imprints as we are on our mates.”

Seth flinched at the thought of being separated from Alec for any period of time, and he was so busy worrying about the hellish future he was facing that when Alec spoke, he jumped in surprise.

“No.” said Alec firmly, and although he could not see his eyes, Seth knew his imprint was staring at Aro intently.

“My dear, I understand that you may not wish to spend any more time around the werewolf than you already have, but I am sure you understand that it is for the good of the coven.”

Alec’s staring did not let up at all as he replied.

“You misunderstand me Aro,” he said. “I am not protesting spending time with Seth, I am protesting being separated from him by anything less than death, and even that would not be for any extended period of time, for I would ensure that I followed him to the afterlife swiftly.”

Seth was sure you could have heard a pin drop in the hall following Alec’s speech, even without supernatural hearing. He was not paying attention to the rest of the room though, he was too busy trying to decide whether to cry or kiss his imprint. He settled on both.

Seth could feel the tears running down his face as he grinned and used his grip on Alec’s hand to turn his imprint towards him and push his hood back, exposing his beautiful face. He leaned down to press their foreheads together, and gazed into Alec’s lovely golden eyes as he whispered, “I love you so much.”

Alec smiled right back and his eyes sparkled as he whispered in reply, “As I love you.”

They were both smiling as they pressed their lips together. Seth gripped tightly at Alec’s waist as his imprint draped his own arms around Seth’s shoulders, their bodies pressed flush together as they both forgot about the room full of vampires and focused on getting as close as they possibly could through their clothes.

The next Seth remembered of the Volturi in the room was when he pulled away from Alec to catch his breath and realised that most of them were either standing stock still or wandering around the room aimlessly, looking frustrated.

Seth furrowed his brows in confusion and looked at Alec. At the sheepish look on his imprint’s face, Seth raised his eyebrows in question, trying his best to hold back a smile. Never mind that with his ruffled hair and kiss-swollen mouth Seth was sure he looked anything but intimidating, Alec quickly caved and told Seth he’d cut off their senses when he felt them moving to attack them.

Seth chuckled and cupped Alec’s cheek, “That is a very handy skill you’ve got there.”

“I know,” smirked Alec. “But I cannot keep it up if we want to get out of here without either killing them all or being followed, and neither option is particularly appealing to me.”

“Me neither,” confessed Seth. “So what’s the plan?”

Alec looked shocked and Seth chuckled, “You never actually planned for us to stay here, did you?”

Alec shook his head.

“Why didn’t you tell me?” asked Seth. “You know I would have helped.”

“I know that you would have put yourself in danger before you would have let me risk anything for myself.” Alec replied.

Seth opened his mouth to interrupt, but Alec cut him off.

“No Seth, you would have, as I would do the same for you,” he promised, “But this is something that I have to do for myself, though I do appreciate you being here to support me.”

“I’ll always be here to support you Alec,” Seth swore, leaning in to seal the promise with a gentle kiss to his imprint’s mouth.

When they separated Seth waited for Alec to slowly blink his eyes open before speaking again.

“Now, why don’t we get this mess settled so we can leave and have our happily ever after?”

Alec smiled and stood on his toes to kiss Seth on his cheek, which made Seth blush harder than any amount of heavy making out, and in the blink of an eye Alec had retracted the mist cutting off the Volturi’s senses. Apparently the ability to send-out and retract the mist quickly hadn’t gone away after the Romanian’s attack, which Seth thought was pretty awesome, and just made his imprint all the more badass in his eyes.

As they came to, it was clear that all of the Volturi, sans Marcus, who looked about as apathetic as usual, were furious; but, before any of them could say anything, Alec raised his hand in the air palm-out in the universal gesture for ‘be quiet’.

“I would like to make something clear,” he said, clear voice ringing around the room. “I did not return here to return to a life of unsatisfying servitude, nor to submit my mate to even harsher treatment. I have realised many things during my travels with Seth, not the least of which is that I love this boy more than anything I ever have or ever will know. I will do everything in my power to ensure that Seth and I are never separated, by you or anything else, and I know he will do the same.”

Alec paused for a moment to smile quickly at Seth, who squeezed his hand in support.

“I have returned for the brief and simple purpose of ensuring that none of you will follow Seth and me when we leave here permanently,” he concluded.

Alec looked at the rest of the Volturi expectantly and, after a moment of stunned silence, Aro was the first to reply.

“And what, pray tell, has led you to believe we will allow you to do that Alec?” he asked, and all traces of his previous good humour were gone.

“The answer to your question is simple Aro,” replied Alec, his gaze hard. “As you have all just witnessed, I have significantly improved my skills since we were last together. As a result, my proposal to you is simple. I have been lenient to you all today in respect for the past we share; however, I warn you now that if any should follow Seth and me when we depart Volterra, I will not be so lenient.”

“I see,” scoffed Aro condescendingly. “And how have you expressed this leniency, exactly?”

Alec raised his eyebrow and replied easily, “I did not kill you all while you were incapacitated.”

Seth held in a gleeful laugh as Alec continued to speak through the deadly awkward silence that followed his first statement.

“I promise you this here and now for the first and only time. If any of you should follow us with malicious intent, or threaten me or my mate at any point in the future, I will incapacitate you and allow Seth to tear your head from your shoulders before I set your remains alight.”

Seth never would have expected it, but he found the thought of Alec threatening anyone who would harm or separate them incredibly attractive. He supposed it had something to do with the fact that his imprint could clearly take care of himself in a way that Seth had not witnessed in the imprints’ of the other wolves he knew, all of whom were human with the excaption of Nessie, who was still a child. The knowledge that Alec would go just as far to protect Seth as he would for Alec made him feel safe as well as proud.

This time it was Caius who tried to speak, but Alec cut him off before he could get a single, probably poisonous, word out.

“This matter is not up for negotiation,” he said firmly. “I am stating a fact: If you follow or threaten either of us, you will die. If you have any questions that do not pertain to either of us remaining in Volterra then I suggest you ask them quickly, as we do not plan to remain here for much longer.”

Seth could see that Alec was looking at Jane as he asked this. He was clearly hoping his sister would have something to say, but she simply looked straight ahead, her expression completely blank.

It was Caius who spoke up, “What happened to your eyes?” he asked. “Please tell me you have not taken on that pathetic _vegetarian_ diet.”

“As a matter of fact Caius, I have recently made the decision to sustain myself on animal blood,” replied Alec confidently. “However, the change in my eye colour occurred when I attempted to suck the vampire venom from Seth’s bloodstream after he was bitten by Stefan.”

It seemed as though the rest of the Volturi had nothing further to add, so, after one last glance at Jane, Alec turned and walked towards the doors, tugging gently on Seth’s hand to encourage him to follow.

Seth complied, walking with Alec until he was unexpectedly knocked to his knees by a crippling pain in his skull. The ache was a thousand times worse than the last time he had been on the receiving end of Jane’s ‘gift’, yet it was over even faster, and when Seth drew the energy to sit up from where he was curled on the floor, he was met with the sight of Alec holding Jane against the wall by her throat. While choking is not an issue for vampires, the threat was still obvious, and Jane looked genuinely panicked at what her brother might do.

Seth quickly got to his feet and jogged to Alec, placing a gentle hand on the arm holding Jane against the wall.

“You don’t want to do this Alec,” he whispered, trying and failing to catch his imprint’s eye.

“She hurt you,” Alec growled. “I warned them what would happen if they tried to harm us, and she ignored me.”

“I know,” Seth said gently, “But she's your sister Alec, and like it or not, killing her would hurt you too much, and that would harm me more than any physical pain ever could.”

“I don’t want you to hurt at all, Seth,” Alec whispered, the pain clear in his voice.

“I know, trust me Alec, I do,” he assured, “But we’re leaving now. She won’t be able to hurt me any more, and we never have to see any of these people again if we don’t want to.”

Alec hesitated, and his hand tightened around Jane’s throat for a moment before he released her and she fell ungracefully to the floor.

Seth grasped Alec’s hand in his own once again, and this time it was him who tugged his imprint towards the door.

As they pulled the door open a high-pitched voice called out behind them, “So you’re just going to leave me Alec?” asked Jane. “After everything we have been through together, all of these years as siblings, you are just going to leave me for this boy?”

Alec blinked and Seth was sure that, were he still human, he would be blinking back tears.

“We have been together for a long time Jane; you are my twin sister, and nobody knows me better than you do, which is why I do not understand how you could do what you just did.”

“You know me better than anyone, so you should have known that I was not lying about my feelings for Seth, but you let your personal prejudices override your care for my happiness, and that is something that has been happening increasingly often in the past decades.”

Alec looked really hurt and all Seth wanted to do was reach out and pull him into a hug, but this was something Alec had to get out of his system, so he settled for squeezing his hand in reassurance.

Alec squeezed back before continuing; “I love my sister Jane, and I always will- I am just not sure if you are her anymore. I do not know how it got to this point, but I barely recognise you, and I think it is best that I leave before the person you once were disappears completely, because when that day comes it will break my heart.”

Alec didn’t give Jane a chance to reply, he just sent her a bitter smile and left the room, allowing Seth to pull the ornate doors closed behind them.

The walk out of the Volturi’s home was conducted in silence, and it wasn’t until they were in the open air again that either of them made a move.

They stopped in front of their car and simply looked at each other for a moment. Seth wasn’t sure who moved first, but suddenly they were hugging, and holding on to each other for dear life. He buried his face in Alec’s hair and simply allowed himself to be relaxed by the scent of his imprint, and he could feel Alec doing the same, his cool breath tickling the skin of Seth’s neck.

The process worked and both of them relaxed slowly until they weren’t so much hugging as they were slumped against each other, each preventing the other from falling to the ground.

Eventually they both recognised they would have to move soon, preferably before the sun rose, and Seth pressed a gentle kiss to Alec’s hair, feeling his imprint return the favour by pressing the same kind of kiss to Seth’s neck before they separated and entered the car.

They drove in silence until Volterra was no longer visible behind them, and Seth broke the silence by asking: “So, where are we headed now?”

Alec smiled and took Seth’s hand, looking at him as he replied; “To our happily ever after.”


	25. Interlude- Forks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Catching up on what's been going on in Forks and La Push since Seth left.

JACOB POV

It had been weeks since any of them had heard from Seth. When Quil had felt Seth phase for the first time after he left it hadn’t taken long to alert the entire pack and have everyone in their wolf form in time to discover that their little brother had been bitten by a vampire, right before he phased back to human and they lost all contact with him.

After that, Jacob set up a roster for the pack that ensured at least one of them would be in their wolf form at all times for when Seth contacted them again. It was four hellish days before they finally heard from him, this time in the middle of the night. Embry was the only one in his wolf form at the time, and he barely had time to howl before Seth had given his message, _‘I’m fine’_ , and phased back.

It had been thirteen days since that last contact and the pack was at their wits end. Seth would likely have reached the Volturi by now and there was no way of knowing what they were doing to him.

Their only consolation was that Embry had said Seth was definitely happy the last time he’d heard him. Obviously he didn’t tell them so outright, but Embry had said there was a definite happy buzz sitting in the back of Seth’s mind. He had gathered enough to realise that Seth’s vampire imprint was the cause of this happiness, but Seth hadn’t stuck around long enough for him to pick up on any details.

Jacob held onto the hope that, if Seth’s imprint had apparently made him so happy, he would have at least one person on his side in the face of the Volturi; two, if Edward was right about that weird Marcus guy.

A week after their last contact from Seth, Jacob had cancelled the roster in the belief that being guaranteed to be faced with one of the pack every time he phased might freak Seth out and stop him from phasing at all. Seth would probably be afraid to phase while Jacob was present especially, because if his Alpha ordered him to return to La Push he would have no choice but to comply. Since it was the regular changing into their wolf-form that maintained the Quileute wolves immortality, Jacob didn’t want to risk Seth stopping and ageing because of them.

They were lulled back into the routines of their everyday lives, just as they had been after Seth disappeared originally, and so they were completely unprepared for what happened on the fifteenth day from their last interaction with their little brother.

Jacob was hanging around inside the Cullen house (he was the only wolf that ever did since Seth had gone, it was like the others were afraid spending too much time with vampires would make them imprint on one), simultaneously playing with Nessie and bantering with Rosalie, when he was alerted by a howl from both Paul and Leah, who were patrolling the woods around the house.

Jacob barely had time to put Nessie down and stand up before the remaining members of the Cullen family had congregated around him in the living room.

“It’s the Volturi,” said Alice. “There are three of them coming down the drive as we speak, I can hear them.”

Jacob was immediately on alert, “Do they have Seth?”

“No,” replied Edward, gazing into space and presumably reading the intruders’ thoughts. “And Alec is not with them either.”

Jacob wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or concerned, and he didn’t have enough time to decide for sure before his human senses finally caught up, and heard the footsteps coming towards the house and the shockingly polite knock at the front door.

Everyone looked at Edward to make the first move and he nodded, “They are not here to fight, she just wants to talk.”

Carlisle nodded in acknowledgement and crossed the room before any of them could object. He opened the door to admit Jane and two male vampires, who Jacob vaguely recognised from the battle.

“Jane, Demetri, Felix,” Carlisle gently inclined his head to recognise the Volturi members on his front doorstep. “To what do we owe the pleasure of your company?”

Jacob had to hold in a snort at the complete insincerity in Carlisle’s voice as he addressed the other vampires. Jane, however, did not change her expression at all.

“I wish to speak with my brother,” she said, with absolutely no inflection in her voice whatsoever.

That comment made all of Jacob’s amused thoughts flee his head, and he spoke before he could stop himself.

“What are you talking about?” he demanded. “Is this some kind of joke? Your brother took Seth over a month ago. We haven’t had any contact with Seth in two weeks; they should have reached Volterra by now!”

Jane spared him a brief, condescending glance before turning her attention back to Carlisle.

“Alec appeared in Volterra twelve days ago with your little werewolf, who, by all accounts, came quite willingly,” she said, directing that last remark at Jacob. “All appeared to be well until Alec took offense to our plans for your pet and threatened to incapacitate and kill any member of the coven who threatened physical or mental harm to him or his _mate_.”

The last word was spoken with such scorn that Jacob flinched in sympathy for his little brother. Jacob certainly wouldn’t want this Witch, of all people, holding such hatred for him.

“I am here to convince Alec otherwise,” she concluded, staring at Carlisle expectantly.

Carlisle blinked, just staring at Jane for a moment before replying, “I am sorry Jane, but I have not seen Seth for over a month now, and it has been even longer since I last saw Alec. The most recent contact any of us have had with either of them was thirteen days ago when Seth contacted the pack reassure them that he had survived the bite dealt to him by Stefan.”

Jane narrowed her eyes at Carlisle, before breathing in deeply. Jacob realised that she was scenting the house, trying to find Alec’s scent and determine whether Carlisle was lying. Apparently satisfied that Alec had not entered the Cullen house recently, if ever, she nodded and spoke again; “If you should have any correspondence with my brother, I expect you to contact me immediately.”

With that lovely parting comment Jane turned and walked away, her silent lackeys following swiftly. The Volturi vampires disappeared swiftly; however, the Cullen household remained silent for some time after their departure, everyone apparently in varying stages of shock.

Of course, the silence was soon broken my Emmett, who broke into loud guffaws, complete with bending over and slapping his knees. Jacob was sure that, had Emmett still been human, tears of mirth would have been streaming down his face.

Before anyone else could react and a way that wasn’t confused, Emmett straightened up, thrust his massive fist in the air and yelled, “Go Seth!”

Jacob leaned towards Edward and whispered in his ear, knowing full well that Emmett would hear, “I think he’s finally cracked.”

Edward didn’t have a chance to reply as he was cut off by Emmett, “Dude, you don’t know Alec. He’s the most apathetic vampire I’ve ever met apart from Marcus- I don’t think I’ve ever heard the guy speak, let alone smile.”

Jacob raised his eyebrow sceptically, “And?”

“ _And_ ,” Emmett said sarcastically, looking at Jacob like he was stupid, “Seth must have had a pretty big influence on Alec to have him threatening his entire coven within the space of a month- not to mention calling Seth his mate! I don’t think even Edward moved that fast with Bella, and they are the most sickeningly in-love couple I’ve ever had the misfortune of being around.”

Jacob ignored Bella and Edward insulting Emmett for his pun, he was too busy remembering that Jane had said that Alec had referred to Seth as his mate in front of the Volturi.

Jacob let out a small huff of amazement as he thought it all over.

“What is it Jacob?” asked Bella.

Jacob shook his head in wonder as he continued to think of what must have happened to cause such a huge change in Alec in such a short period of time.

Eventually he spoke, “I knew Seth was loveable, but this is taking it to a whole new level. Even seemingly emotionless, thousand-year-old vampires aren’t immune to his charms.”

The Cullens all laughed in response.

“Do you think we should look for them?” Bella worried.

Jacob thought about it for a moment, but ultimately decided against it.

“I don’t think so,” he said. “Seth’s obviously in good hands, he and Alec managed to take down those creepy Romanian guys by themselves after all. The only other people who would pose a threat to them are the Volturi, and thanks Alec’s threat I don’t think they’ll be trying to track the two of them down any time soon, they’re too afraid of his powers.”

The Cullen’s eventually agreed, though there were serious protests from Esme and Bella. What it eventually came down to was that, if Alec was just as willing to alienate his family for Seth as Seth had been for Alec, then Jacob trusted the vampire to take care of his brother.

As Jacob left the house to tell the rest of the pack of the good news he couldn’t help but smile. It seemed that Seth had achieved with Alec what none of them had ever expected: he’d gotten his happy ending.


	26. Chapter 26

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While 'holidaying' in Norway, Seth runs into the last person he would have expected.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would just like to make you all aware that there is a two-year time jump between this chapter and the last.

SETH POV

2 YEARS LATER

Seth couldn’t believe it had been two years since he’d first met Alec across that clearing. He couldn’t believe that despite the clear disappointment, and even disgust, expressed by both of their friends and family, they were still together and Seth was happier than he could ever remember being.

Seth and Alec had spent the last two years travelling the world, finding the best places with as little sun as possible, or that were secluded enough that a sparkling man walking around the place wouldn’t attract any unwanted attention.

They weren’t too keen on hitting heavily populated tourist locations, but Alec liked visiting historical sites that reminded him of the time period in which he’d been human, and Seth liked trying the foods in the different regions. Staying in secluded locations also meant that they could hunt together, with Seth in his wolf form, without having to worry about being seen by humans. Seth had discovered that there wasn’t much he enjoyed doing more than running with his vampire mate. Moving to the constant beat of their strides and Seth’s heartbeat was incredibly soothing to both of them, and both he and Alec were always at their most relaxed after they returned from a hunt.

Fortunately, they weren’t exactly short on time. Obviously Seth couldn’t go back to school, but Alec helped him complete his GED online. It was nice to have completed his schooling already, but it also wasn’t necessary. As long as he continued to phase into his wolf form on a regular basis, Seth would live as long as Alec, which is to say forever.

Knowing that, barring any extenuating circumstances, he would be able to spend the rest of eternity with his amazing imprint made him feel like the luckiest person in the world. He knew that everyone who fell in love probably believed the same thing, but Seth didn’t care; he honestly couldn’t remember another time in his life when he had felt this completely happy, and each day he spent with Alec just got better.

The only thing that could possibly make his life better at this moment would be if he reconciled with his friends and family back at home.

He was in relatively regular contact with the other wolves in Jake’s pack- there always seemed to be at least one of them in their wolf form when he phased, even though Jake had promised they weren’t doing it on purpose. Lately though, it seemed like every time he phased there were less pack members to greet him; they were all gradually giving up their wolf nature in order to continue ageing and live out their lives as humans, usually for their imprints.

As it stood, the only people in the pack who were still technically werewolves were Jake (for Nessie), Quil (for Claire), Embry (For Jacob and Quil) and Leah, who Seth was guiltily sure would have stopped phasing a long time ago if it wasn’t her only reliable means of contacting him.

In the past, members of Jacob’s pack had tried to pass on messages from Seth’s mum and the members of Sam’s pack, all of whom apparently wanted to apologise, but they had stopped when every attempt made Seth phase back to his human form immediately. Honestly, Seth didn’t want to hear it; the betrayal still stung, especially from people like Sam and Jarred who had imprints of their own. They should have understood that Seth wasn’t being tricked and that there was no way he would ever choose them over Alec, but they were too blinded by their own hatred and prejudices to accept it.

If they had stopped to think about it for even a second then they would have realised that Seth imprinting on a vampire shouldn’t have come as such a surprise.

Just as Jacob had always been drawn to Bella because she would one day give birth to Nessie, Seth had never been disgusted by vampires, quite the opposite in fact. He guessed now that it was because he was destined to imprint on Alec, and his subconsciousness was simply preparing him for that inevitability and ensuring that, by being friendly with vampires, he would meet Alec at the earliest possible time.

So yes, for a long time Seth had been angry and frustrated at the narrow views of his friends and family, which had ultimately meant he felt more comfortable leaving than staying in his own home; but that frustration had faded over the last year and now he mostly felt sad that they had parted on such bad terms.

If he had been on his own, there was no doubt in Seth’s mind that he would have returned home by now, at least for a little while, but he didn’t want to go back with Alec. He knew that his friends wouldn’t treat Alec well if he brought him home; the best his imprint would get would be tolerance and barely hidden disdain. Seth knew they would try for his sake, in an attempt to stop him from leaving again, but he doubted that even the Cullens would be overly friendly to the former Volturi member.

As such, Seth had decided he wouldn’t return yet, not even when Alec suggested it. He just wasn’t comfortable putting his imprint in that position, especially after everything that Alec had done for him.

All of that changed with just one meeting.

* * *

 

Seth and Alec’s tourist destination of the month was Rjukan in Norway. It was a small, peaceful town with an interesting history, but what made it most appealing to them was the fact that, for six months out of the year it received almost no sun. The conditions were perfect for Alec, because they could explore the town during the day without causing the riot that was sure to follow a man who sparkled in the sunlight.

The best thing for Seth though, compared to the other dark places they’d visited over the past two years, was that a genius of a man had had the fantastic idea of constructing three giant mirrors on the mountainside bordering the town, which allowed the sun to reflect into the valley and create a small circle of sunlight in the middle of the town square.

That was where Seth was standing, with his eyes closed and his face tilted towards the warmth of the sun, when he heard the last thing he was expecting- his name being called across the town square in what was clearly an American accent.

This registered as strange in Seth’s mind, because he hadn’t returned to America since he and Alec had left for Volterra. They had spent most of their time following winter through Europe and Asia, and since winter didn’t tend to attract as many tourists as summer, Seth hadn’t come across many American accents, and certainly not any that sounded this familiar.

He opened his eyes and turned his head in the direction the shout had come from only to be completely shocked to find himself with an armful of one of the last people he would ever have expected to see in a small Norwegian town: Paul Lahote.

“Paul?” he gasped through the rib-crushing hug, “What are you doing here?”

Paul pulled back, keeping his hands on Seth’s shoulders and holding him at arm’s length, grinning.

“Rachel and I are touring Europe,” he said, and for the first time Seth noticed Jacob’s older sister, Paul’s imprint, standing in the background and smiling.

“I never expected to see you here though,” Paul continued. “We all thought you’d slipped completely off the grid after the thing with the Volturi- you’re always really careful to hide where you are whenever you talk to the pack.”

“What ‘thing’ with the Volturi?” Seth asked, slowly walking himself and Paul out of the circle of sunlight and the interested stares of the locals. “How did you know we didn’t stay with them?”

Paul laughed, “A few weeks after you got bit by that psycho Romanian, that crazy sister of your imprint turned up at the Cullens' place looking for him. She told them all about how he threatened them and left with you.”

Here Paul’s face turned serious as he looked into Seth’s eyes, “I’m happy for you Seth, we all are. It turns out you’ve been great for this guy, and apparently he’s been really good to you. The pack and the council were wrong to judge you like that, and I’m glad you found your happiness in spite of everything.”

Seth smiled at Paul and pulled him into another hug. “Thank you” he murmured, squeezing Paul one more time before letting go and grabbing his arm.

He pulled Paul across the courtyard with him, “Come on, there’s someone I want you to meet.”

* * *

 

Seth dragged Paul, and by extension Rachel, all the way to the hotel, smiling brightly at the girl at the front desk as he ushered Paul and Rachel into the elevator.

“Well,” said Paul. “It’s nice to see that two years away from home and imprinting on a vampire hasn’t changed you at all.”

Seth just grinned in response, bouncing on the balls of his feet until the elevator stopped and the doors opened, and exiting at a far more sedate pace than he had entered.

He led his friends down the hall to the room he and Alec were sharing and used his key card to open the door and gesture them inside.

Before anyone could say anything, a musical voice came from further inside the room; “I was about to come and meet you. I am--”

Alec cut himself off when he saw that Seth wasn’t alone in the doorway. His face didn’t betray any feelings, but Seth knew him well enough by now to catch the quick glance his imprint sent his way to check he was alright.

Seth couldn’t help but smile at Alec’s concern and he crossed the gap between them to kiss his imprint on the cheek. Alec allowed himself a small smile in return as they looked into each other’s eyes for a moment before Seth gently clasped Alec’s left hand in his right, and led him to Paul and Rachel.

“Alec, this is Paul,” he introduced. “He’s part of my pack, and this is Rachel, his imprint.”

Alec’s eyes cleared as he realised the people in their room weren’t a threat; “Lovely to meet you,” he murmured.

“Likewise,” said Paul, grinning and offering Alec his hand. Alec hesitated for a moment before reaching over and shaking Paul’s hand firmly.

Paul had never come across as particularly tolerant towards vampires, but Seth noticed that, to his credit, he didn’t flinch at Alec’s touch.

“It’s a pleasure to finally meet the person who stole our Seth away, literally,” said Paul, completely ruining the moment in Seth’s eyes.

Alec visibly tensed at the comment, but Paul just laughed and released his hand.

“Relax; I’m not going to threaten you!” he promised, “I know firsthand how shitty it feels to be on the receiving end of a hurt Seth, and I trust that no sane person would ever be able to do that to themselves.”

Alec smiled slightly and nodded at Paul, “Indeed,” he murmured.

After the initial awkwardness, the rest of the day passed relatively pleasantly, and when Paul and Rachel left at the end of the day, preparing to continue their travels before they lost too much light, Seth was sad to see them go.

Alec shook Paul’s hand and kissed Rachel’s hand like a true gentleman, and both Rachel and Paul pulled Seth into a firm hug.

Alec left them alone to say goodbye, and Seth appreciated the privacy as Paul pulled him aside and grasped his upper arms, looking into his eyes seriously.

“I meant what I said before Seth,” he said. “I’m so happy that you and Alec have found each other, and Alec seems like a really cool guy. He’s a bit quiet, but it’s not like he’d be used to getting a word in edgewise with you around.”

Aaaaand, the moment was dead.

Seth scowled and punched Paul on the arm, “Shut up!”

They managed to keep a straight face for all of ten seconds before they were clutching at each other and laughing hysterically.

Seth wiped the tears of mirth from his eyes as he pulled back and reigned in his laughter.

“I’m going to miss you,” he confessed.

Paul smiled, “Me too kid. Don’t be a stranger, come and visit some time; I know everyone at home misses you just as much as I have, probably more.”

Seth chuckled wetly, his throat suddenly choked up with emotion.

“I’ll think about it,” he promised, and for the first time he actually meant it. Seeing Paul had only made him miss his family and pack all the more, and the easy way Paul had accepted Alec had gone a long way towards reassuring Seth that maybe the rest of the people at home could do the same.

Seth and Paul shared one last hug before separating and heading for their respective imprint's.

Seth returned to his room, closed the door behind him and leaned against it for a moment before he crossed the room and pulled Alec into a hug.

Alec hugged Seth back tightly as he buried his face in his imprint’s neck and tried to stop himself from crying.

As though sensing his emotions, Alec only hugged Seth harder, buried his face in Seth’s hair and murmured, “Time to go home?”

Seth couldn’t find the energy to raise his head so he simply nodded against Alec’s neck and agreed; “Time to go home.”


	27. Chapter 27

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It's time for Seth to go home.

SETH POV

3 MONTHS LATER

It had taken Seth and Alec a little while to get themselves together enough to return to La Push. It didn’t really help that Seth kept having second thoughts, and without Alec’s support he was sure he never would have been able to convince himself to go back.

Eventually however, he had gathered the courage and, after steady support from Alec and near-constant correspondence with Paul, here he was, driving through Forks towards the Cullens' house.

Seth had been worried that the Cullens' maight have moved on in the time since he’d left, but Paul assured him they had not. Apparently they hadn’t wanted to leave without knowing Seth would be able to find them, a fact that hadn’t managed to stem his guilt at all.

Before he could convince himself that this was a bad idea yet again, Alec pulled the car up in front of the huge Cullen house and looked at Seth. That look said a lot of things, namely that if Seth didn’t get his bum out of the car and knock on the door, Alec would drag him there.

Seth smiled sheepishly and opened the car door before Alec could follow through with his unvoiced threat, an when he caught sight of Alec’s smug smile he couldn’t help but laugh.

He slowly made his way to the front door,  supported by the comforting presence of his imprint's at the small of his back.

They stepped onto the porch, but Seth couldn’t bring himself to knock. Alec moved his hand from Seth’s back and entwined their fingers together before raising their joined hands to rap on the door.

Seth had been wondering why no one had come to the door already, the Cullen’s should have heard them turn into the driveway, and his queries were answered when he heard Jacob's voice coming through the door.

“I don’t know why I have to answer the door Alice,” he was complaining. “You could have been there and back by now.”

Seth couldn’t hear Alice’s reply, but he heard Jacob laugh as he pulled the door open.

Jacob’s laughter stopped abruptly as he saw who was at the door, and Seth squeezed Alec’s hand for strength before he spoke; “Hey Jake.”

Jacob didn’t reply verbally, but Seth found himself with his arms full of his brother. His hand was pulled from Alec’s, but he knew his imprint wouldn’t mind as he wrapped his own arms around Jacob, who was hugging him so hard that his feet were dangerously close to leaving the ground, but he didn’t care.

It was so good to have his fears proved wrong, though he had never expected Jacob of all people to judge him for leaving. He gave Jake one last squeeze before he pulled back and wiped his eyes with the back of his hand to brush away the happy tears that just wouldn’t stop falling. Jacob seemed to be having the same problem, but they both manfully pretended not to notice.

Every time Seth looked at Jacob he could feel the tears welling up again, and he couldn’t stop himself from pulling him into another hug.

“I’ve missed you so much Jake,” he gasped.

Jacob just hugged him tighter and whispered; “Me too Seth.”

They pulled apart again, and this time they couldn’t help but laugh when they took in each other’s tear stained faces.

They both wiped their eyes again and Jacob looked at Alec with a smile.

“Aren’t you going to introduce us Seth?” he asked.

Seth grinned. This was already going so much better than he had feared it would, and he was incredibly grateful for Jacob and the Cullens, who he knew were staying inside on purpose to give them some privacy.

“Jacob, this is Alec,” he said, “Alec, this is Jacob.”

Jacob grinned and held out his hand, and Alec grasped in in his own and shook firmly, giving a small smile of his own, to Seth’s surprise.

“It’s great to finally meet you outside of a fight,” joked Jacob.

Alec’s smile widened slightly as he replied, “The feeling is quite mutual, I assure you.”

Jacob chuckled in response and then called back into the house; “Okay, you can come out now, I know you can’t wait to see Seth!”

No sooner had he spoken then Seth found himself completely swamped in a massive hug that he was sure involved every member of the Cullen family- plus, they’d somehow managed to pull Alec in as well; he didn’t know how they’d managed it, but it was definitely his imprint’s hair that his face was buried in.

Everyone was laughing and crying (figuratively in the vampires’ case) in turns as they all hugged. Alec was welcomed, and Seth was welcomed back, with open arms.

Eventually they all ended up piled in the living room. It seemed like every available surface was covered with people, and Seth found himself sitting comfortably in Alec’s lap, incredibly relieved that no one in the room so much as flinched as he relaxed into his imprint’s embrace.

Just as everyone had settled into their chosen chair Emmett spoke, “So, I think it’s safe to say that we’re all dying to know what’s been going on since you left Seth.”

Rosalie kicked Emmett viciously and Esme shot him a sharp look.

“What?!” whined Emmett, rubbing his shin with a look so pathetic that Seth couldn’t help but laugh.

“Do not be so rude Emmett,” Esme chastised. She turned to look at Seth and Alec, “Do either of you need anything?” she asked politely, “Water, blood, perhaps a bath?”

Seth smiled at her fondly; he couldn’t remember why he had been so worried about coming back here.

“No thank you Esme,” he replied, Alec nodding in agreement. “We’re alright for the moment, but we’ll be sure to let you know if we do need something.”

Esme smiled, satisfied, but before anyone else could say anything Emmett interrupted.

“So you’re all good, can we get down to the storytelling now?” he asked eagerly, actually leaning forward in his chair from excitement, like a small child.

Esme glared again, but Rosalie simply rolled her eyes. Seth supposed she was used to Emmett by now, maybe he would be in a few hundred years as well.

Seth could see that Esme was working up another telling-off for Emmett, so he spoke before she could start.

“It’s alright Esme,” he assured, “I know you’re all just as eager as Emmett, you’re just too polite to say it.”

He punctuated his last statement by poking his tongue out at Emmett, who laughed in response.

“Man, have I ever missed you Seth,” he chuckled.

Seth’s smile dropped from his face and he looked at the floor as he was filled with an overwhelming sense of shame for having left this family.

“I’ve missed you guys too, and I’m so sorry for the way I left, and for taking so long to come back.”

He felt Alec gently rubbing his back in reassurance as Alice spoke, “You have nothing to apologise for Seth,” she assured. “We understand why you left, and any one of us would have done the same in your place. I have done the same in your place.”

That statement puzzled Seth for a moment before he remembered that Alice and Jasper had disappeared before the battle with the Volturi because Alice had been afraid of what the vampire leaders would do to her mate for formerly being a part of a newborn army.

Seth smiled at Alice in understanding, and as he looked around the room he realised that not one of the Cullens were looking at him in anger or disgust, and the last of his fears melted away.

He couldn’t help but grin, “Thanks guys,” he said with a smile, “And since you’ve been so patient for so long, for the most part,” he added with a smirk at Emmett, “I suppose we’d better get down to the storytelling.”

Seth spoke for hours, pausing only to take a drink, or to let Alec tell his own perspective of certain events. When they started, it seemed as though the tale would never end, but eventually he reached the point where they had met up with Paul and Rachel in Rjukan, before ultimately deciding to return to Forks.

Jacob chuckled at that, “Paul told me he’d seen you guys,” he said. “He didn’t think you’d follow his advice though- he’s gonna be so smug when we tell him!”

Seth couldn’t help but laugh along. It had been so long since he’d seen these amazing people, and yet he fit back in so well it was as though he’d never left, like it had always been this way.

Now that the tale was finally off of his chest Seth found himself to be unbearably tired. He tried to lean back into Alec subtly, but of course Esme noticed and spoke up, “Oh Seth, I cannot believe how rude we have been!” she exclaimed, standing up. “You have had such a busy day, it is no wonder you are tired, yet we all sat here and allowed you to talk yourself silly.”

Seth tried to protest as the motherly vampire bustled over to help him from the couch.

“Now Seth, there is no point in arguing. You and Alec may have Edward’s old room for tonight, he has not had any need of it since he and Bella moved to the cottage.”

Seth tried to protest a few more times, but his arguments were undermined by a massive yawn, and he reluctantly let Esme and Alec lead him upstairs to bed.

Edward’s old room was bare, with only a neatly made bed and a few empty shelves on the walls, but Seth barely noticed. He simply mumbled a quick thanks to Esme and kicked off his shoes before collapsing face-down on the bed.

Sath heard Alec chuckle as he gently closed the door and crossed the room. He didn’t move as Alec stripped him to his underwear and gently manoeuvred him beneath the covers and he kept his eyes closed as he heard clothing rustling before the bed dipped and Alec joined him beneath the covers.

Seth shuffled over until he was comfortably snuggled against Alec’s warmth and simply allowed himself to breathe in the scent of his imprint.

“Thanks,” he mumbled against Alec’s neck.

Alec shifted so he could wrap an arm around Seth’s waist and Seth felt cool breath pass across his face as Alec replied, “No Seth, thank _you_.”

Seth just hummed in response and let the even, instinctual breathing of his imprint lull him to sleep.


	28. Chapter 28

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seth finally achieves his happy ending.

SETH POV

Seth pulled into the driveway and rested his head on the steering wheel, breathing deeply and trying to talk himself into getting out of the car and knocking on the door.

It was only the thought of Alec sitting back at the Cullens house, and how quietly disappointed he’d be if Seth didn’t at least try this, and the fact that no matter what happened today, he would be able to go home to his amazing imprint, gave him the courage he needed and he quickly got out of the car and strode to the front door, knocking quickly before he could talk himself out of it.

He’d only been waiting for a few seconds when the door swung open to show a woman whose small smile completely dropped from her face when she saw who was on the other side.

“Hey Leah,” Seth whispered, a sad smile on his face as he finally realised just how much he’d missed his big sister.

For a moment he thought she wasn’t going to move at all, but then she suddenly let out a sob, called out “Mom!”, and threw herself into Seth’s arms.

Seth buried his face in Leah’s hair as she sobbed into his shoulder, inhaling the familiar scents of home and family.

Seth looked up when he heard running from inside the house, and heard his mother beginning to ask Leah what was wrong, only to freeze completely when she saw who was standing on her doorstep.

Sue covered her mouth with her hands and shook her head.

“Seth?”

“It’s me Mom.”

Sue copied her daughter's response almost exactly when she sobbed and threw herself into the family hug.

Seth didn’t know how long they stood there, all of them crying and clutching the others closer. All he knew was that, by the time they finally made their way inside, he was completely exhausted from crying, but happier than he had been in a while. Being with his family filled a hole in his chest he hadn’t even realised was there until he had his mother and sister in his arms again. Through everything that had happened in the last three and a half years, and despite the bad terms they had parted on, Seth had never forgotten just how much he loved them.

He had barely sat down before Leah and his mother were on him.

“Seth, we’re so sorry-”

“We should have listened to you-”

“We were so worried-”

Seth couldn’t take it, “Guys, stop!”

They both fell silent, but he could tell it was reluctant.

“I understand that you’re sorry,” he began. “And yes, you both hurt me a lot when you made a decision about Alec without even talking to me about it first. I was so upset for so long, but I’ve had some time to think about it now, and I know you both thought you were doing what was best for me.”

At this point his mother looked like she was going to interrupt, but he cut her off.

“I do understand, but I need to make one thing very clear. The first time was a mistake, but I have been with Alec for over three years now, and I have no intention of separating from him- ever. I am here today to reconnect with you because you are my family and I love you, but before we get into anything else, I need you to understand that Alec comes first and he always will, and if you can’t accept that then I’m sorry, but I won’t be able to stay.”

Seth’s speech left the room silence and his mother in tears.

“I am so sorry Seth,” she sobbed. “I thought I was doing the right thing, but I know now that all I did was hurt us all.”

Aaaaaand now Seth felt like crap. He crossed the room to sit beside his mother, “It’s not that Mom, I know you had good intentions. I just wish you could have trusted me. Alec is such an amazing person, and he’d never do anything to hurt me.”

“He sounds pretty perfect,” interrupted Leah from where she was standing and smirking across the room.

Seth smiled and looked at both of them, “He is. Would you like to meet him?”

They both froze at the offer, and Seth could see the wariness in their eyes, especially his Mother; but she took a deep breath and Seth saw her eyes narrow in resolve.

“We’d love to.”

* * *

 

That night, lying in bed with Alec, Seth couldn’t remember ever having been happier. Alec’s old-fashioned charm, genuine kindness and absolute love for Seth had won his mother over immediately. Leah had taken a little longer to warm up to him, but after she’d subjected Alec to a sufficiently horrifying speech that involved threats of castration, disembowelment and eventual decapitation, among other things, if he ever hurt Seth, they seemed to get along pretty well.

Seth rolled over and buried his face in Alec’s chest. “I love you so much Alec,” he mumbled into his imprint’s chest.

Alec smiled and buried his hand in Seth’s hair, gently massaging his scalp until Seth was practically purring into his skin.

“I love you too Seth, and I really enjoyed meeting your family today- they’re lovely people.”

“Yes they are, and they loved you too.”

“As they should, I am quite wonderful, any family would be happy for their son to be in a relationship with me.”

Seth snorted against Alec’s skin, “Man, I have been such a bad influence on you!”

Alec’s eyes turned serious as he gently grasped Seth’s chin and raised his head until he was looking into his imprint’s eyes.

“Never Seth,” he said earnestly. “You are the best thing that has ever happened to me, and nothing you could ever do could be bad for me in any way.”

Seth surged up and pressed his lips to Alec’s firmly, pressing his whole body against his imprint in an attempt to get as close to him as possible.

“I love you more and more every day,” he whispered as he drew back for breath.

“As I love you, my beautiful mate.”

Seth leaned in to kiss Alec again, ecstatic in the knowledge that he finally had his imprint, his pack and his family in his life at the same time.

It may not have been a smooth road, and there were some events that he’d rather forget, but if Seth could go back in time he wouldn’t change a second of it. He was the happiest he’d ever been, and while he was sure the peace and quiet wouldn’t last long, he was comforted by the fact that, whatever happened, he would deal with it with Alec by his side- from now until the end of time.


End file.
